Saving the Best for Last
by Runawaybaby555
Summary: Aria finds out Spencer is on the A-Team, and the girls go on a search for answers. But the truth that lies before them is greater than anything either could have imagined, and the secret that is revealed to Aria is worse than any torture she could have received. Will she learn to trust Spencer, or ANYONE, again? What I think should happen in the Season 3 Finale! R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

"Emily, slow down!" Hanna screamed as Emily slammed the gas pedal down the empty streets of Rosewood all the way to Radley Sanitarium. Hanna was in the passenger seat, trying to get a hold of the wheel so they didn't crash the car, and Aria was in the back seat, her doe hazel eyes wider than saucers and her face pale. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"I can't!" Emily screamed back, her eyes never leaving the road. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we end this. We need to find out what went down at the mental institution between Spencer and Mona. We could finally get some answers!"

"We can't get any answers if we get KILLED in the process!" Hanna shot back. The two friends bickered back and forth while the speedometer slowly creeped up to 70mph, and the whole time Aria just remained silent, watching two of the people she cared most about slowly begin to lose it. Unfortunately for Aria, she had already lost it.

* * *

Earlier that week, Aria had taken the girls' advice to go see Malcolm and ask whom the person who picked him up from karate looked like. She had taken out her phone and showed him a picture of Alison, and he had shaken his head "no", but then stopped when he saw the girl who's arms were draped around the youthful looking blonde. Spencer happened to be in the frame, and Malcolm pointed to her with assurance.

Aria's heart stopped, and from that point forward everything slowed down. Spencer. No. It couldn't be. Aria watched her crumble to pieces when she found out Toby was A. How could Spencer be a part of it? She asked a million times if Malcolm was positive, and he repeatedly nodded his head that he was sure. Feeling tears, and possibly vomit, in the back of her throat, Aria slowly stood up and began to walk out of the apartment, without even saying goodbye to a confused Ezra. Once she was out of the building, she stood on the sidewalk and said the 3 words she never thought she'd say:

"Spencer is A."

And with that, the tears came, and Aria fell to her knees in a fit of sobs right outside of her car to the point that she was hyperventilating. She didn't care that it had rained earlier that day and she was getting mud all over her black leggings. She didn't care that she was in full view of the entire town of Rosewood at her most vulnerable moment. She didn't care about the strange glances she was getting from onlookers as they walked by wondering why this short brunette was going absolutely ballistic in the middle of the street. All she cared about was that her best friend, the smartest person she knew, the one person she could look up to in times of trouble, the one person she would do absolutely anything for, was truly the enemy.

* * *

"We're here," Emily breathed, breaking Aria out of her thoughts. They sat in the car for a minute, as Hanna was still rubbing her neck from the whiplash, until Aria broke the tension by opening the car door with a shaky hand, the other two following in suit. Hanna gently touched Aria's arm.

"You ok?" she asked in a concerned tone. Aria could only nod her head, but Hanna noticed the dead look in her eyes. Aria's mysterious eyes were usually filled with so much hope and love. Now, however, Hanna saw something else: hurt, betrayal, and shock. She had never seen Aria this broken, but it made sense. Sure, all three of the girls were very stunned and upset when Aria bawled to them that Spencer had betrayed them like this, and they were all very close to her, but no one was closer to Spencer than Aria.

Aria and Spencer were like partners and crime, and Spencer used to always call Aria "the Scooby to her Shaggy". The two shared a special bond that no one could compete with; they were there for each other in ways that no one could understand, and had a shared admiration for each other that was very rare. Aria admired Spencer's drive and determination, and her intelligence that seemed to stretch on forever, while Spencer admired how Aria had the kind of strength and affection that was barely seen in someone of normal stature, let alone someone as tiny as Aria. They were practically sisters, and Hanna always wanted someone to be as fiercely protective of her the way Spencer was of Aria; she wanted someone to have the same desperation in their eyes as Spencer had in hers when Aria was kidnapped on the Halloween train and they had searched everywhere for her, about to give up. Spencer refused to give up, though, and she seemed at the time to truly want to save her friend. Hanna thought that if Aria were to disappear, Spencer would become a basket case; the two could not survive without each other. And for all of that to be a lie, and for Aria to have to find out herself that it was a lie, was truly heartbreaking.

They walked up to the Sanitarium walls and looked up to the nearest window, about 7 feet above. Emily measured up the distance and then turned back around to Hanna and Aria.

"Okay, it's not that far up. I'll lift one of you up there so that you can find a way to open the window, then once you climb in you help the rest of us up. I should be able to climb in last by myself. Who wants to go first?"

Emily then looked at Hanna, who looked at Aria, who looked at the ground. Emily sighed sadly at the realization that it had to come to this.

"Aria," Emily said cautiously, "are you okay with climbing up there? You're the smallest, so it should be easiest to lift you for an extended period of time while you break in."

Aria looked up at Emily, and finally croaked, "Yeah." It was the first thing Aria had said the entire evening, so Emily took it as a good sign and motioned for them to stand up against the window. Emily and Hanna linked their hands together, and Aria stepped on their hands as they lifted her effortlessly up to the window. As soon as she had steadied herself, Aria reached for the pocketknife in the inside of her jacket, and set to work on breaking open the window. She heard the lock click from the inside and immediately pushed it open. She heaved herself inside and then looked back to the ground, where Emily was hoisting Hanna up at the moment. She pulled Hanna inside, then Emily as she climbed up by herself with little trouble.

They surveyed the scene, each armed with flashlights shining on the lowest setting so they didn't draw too much attention. The room was dark and gloomy looking, with a tattered, pathetic-looking sheet lining the bed and a layer of dust on both bedside dressers. It sent shudders down each of their spines. Emily leaned toward Hanna, whispering, "Do you remember which room was Mona's?"

"14B," Hanna whispered back, "but I don't know how to get there from here. I'll recognize it when I see it though."

The girls slowly pushed the door open and entered the hallway, which, somehow, was even creepier looking than the room they were just in. It was dimly lit and so quiet you could hear water dripping from a faucet nearly all the way on the other side of the building. They walked in slow circles around the building until they finally found the room with fading letters on the door: 14B.

The room was empty, so it was unlocked. "Start looking around," Emily ordered, but before they could start, they heard frantic footsteps down the hall. The girls froze in their tracks, and before they could even make an attempt to conceal themselves, the footsteps stopped in the doorway, and before them was a tall, lean figure that they thought they had known so well.

Spencer.

"You guys have to get out of here, _now_," Spencer said firmly. She was still in her dress from the party her parents had thrown her that evening for being released from Radley, and looked incredibly glamorous next to the other three girls, who had changed out of their fancy clothes and into sweats that were appropriate for sneaking into the Sanitarium. The girls ignored this, however, as they stared down the girl they had come to now know as their nemesis.

Hanna's clear blue eyes turned a shade of gray. "Why should we believe anything you say?" she spat.

"I'm telling you, it's a trap!" Spencer exclaimed desperately. "You shouldn't be here. You never should have been here! They'll be here any minute to finish you."

"Right, to finish _us_," Emily said coldly. It took Spencer a second to realize what she was implying, but she immediately caught on.

"To finish me, too. _All of us_. It was their plan all along. And now they can finally execute it."

"What are you talking about?" Aria spoke up, but her voice didn't have the same venom that the others' had. Spencer took note of this, and her tone softened.

"The A-team. They're on their way. I came as fast as I could to warn you guys. I wasn't fooling anybody when I joined the team to try to infiltrate it, and now it's just made them even angrier. We have to LEAVE!"

"If you were really on our side," Hanna retorted, "you'd tell us right here and now what you know."

"There isn't _time_, Hanna!" Spencer shouted urgently. "We have to get out of here. Mona, Red Coat, they're _all_ on their way."

"Wait, RED COAT?" Emily cried, clearly shocked. "Do you know who Red Coat is?"

Spencer froze, and swallowed mournfully. "I do."

Emily's stood stiff, astonished at the revelation, but quickly came to her senses. "Spencer, you have to tell us who she is."

"I can't now. We have to GO!"

"Spencer, we're not going anywhere with you until you prove that we can trust you," Hanna stated. "We're not leaving from this spot until you tell us who she is!"

"WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE TO LEAVE?! THESE COULD BE THE LAST WORDS WE EVER SAY TO EACH OTHER!"

"Spencer," Aria squeaked, "Please."

And with one look at the anxiety and fear swirling in Aria's eyes, and knowing that _she_ was the cause of it, Spencer knew that there was no way they were getting out of there until she revealed what she knew. It was the least she could do. For Aria she would do it. She took a deep breath and said it.

"Ali. Ali is Red Coat."

Emily, Aria, and Hanna's eyes went wide at this new and confusing information, but before they could process it all, a _THWACK_ was heard across the room, and Spencer fell to the ground.

The girls looked up to find a girlish figure clad in red and gripping a heavy metal flashlight. She was hovering over an unconscious Spencer, her long blonde hair concealing her face. She slowly raised her head, and the sight of her face haunted all three of the girls.

The flawless tan skin. The dark blue eyes. The pouty red lips. The perfect white teeth that sparkled sinisterly when she cracked a grim smile at the girls. All were features of their presumed dead best friend. All were features that they thought they'd never see again.

All were features of Alison DiLaurentis.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: HEY GUYS! So I forgot to mention in my first chapter that this is my first story, so PLEASE let me know what you think of it! So far, I've gotten very good responses, so keep it up! I decided to throw another chapter in. Keep the reviews/favorites/follows coming and I'll add more ;) Thanks so much for reading! By the way, I do not own PLL or ANY of its characters. Just putting that out there.**

* * *

The tension in the room was so thick it could be sliced with a knife. Alison stood before them, a sly smile on her face as she looked on the girls condescendingly, just as she used to do 3 years ago. "I've missed you girls."

Emily had a lot she wanted to say. How could Alison do this? What could they have possibly done to her to make her stalk and harass them like this for the past 2 years? What could she _herself_ have done? She had expressed nothing but love for Alison, _true_ love. If anything Emily should be doing this to _her_ for the way Alison treated her when she was alive- or at least while they _knew_ she was alive. How was she even _here_ right now? But she couldn't seem to form her words correctly, so she simply settled on, "Wh-why?"

"Oh, sweetie," Alison laughed in that familiar Ali-way, "That's for _me_ to know…"

As she spoke these words, she pulled a matchbox out of her coat pocket, the coat they had spent months wondering about, and swiftly lit it. The flame illuminated her face, making her features look more ghoulish and menacing than before.

"… and for you to die wondering about."

With that, she took the flaming match, stepped aside to reveal a container of propane beside her, threw the match in the air, and nimbly darted off.

Before either of the girls could react to what just happened, the propane exploded, and immediately the walls were engulfed in flames. The girls gasped as the temperature in the room heated rapidly. "We have to get out of here!" Hanna screamed, but as she ran to the other side of the room she was bewildered to find that Mona's room had no windows. They were trapped.

The fire snapped Aria out of her broken state temporarily and back to her clever ways. She grabbed the blanket draped over the bed and handed the other corner to Emily and Hanna. "We'll wrap this around us and dart out of here. It should provide some form of protection!" Emily and Hanna immediately complied; wrapping the blanket around themselves as well, the three of them collectively took a large, final breath, and raced out of the room into the wall of smoke. Coughing and wheezing, while surrounded by crazed patients and nurses who were becoming aware of the fire, the girls worked their way through, but their vision was blurred and they couldn't see where they were going or where there was an exit. It was like a never-ending labyrinth of smoke, and they were right in the middle of it.

Tears spilled down Aria's charred face as she weaved through the flames, desperately trying to keep up with Emily and Hanna without tripping on the blanket. The sound of squeals and cries from the mental patients in the lobby became more prominent, so the girls figured they were nearing the edge of the blaze. As they started to run closer, Aria realized something, and it hit her so hard she almost tripped over her own feet on the spot.

_Spencer_.

"We forgot Spencer!" Aria yelled, frozen in place, while the blanket slid off of her as Emily and Hanna kept walking. They, too, froze, and they looked back at their friend skeptically.

"Aria," Emily croaked sympathetically, even while the flames were licking her frame, "as bad as this fire is over here, it must be ten times worse over where the container of propane is. I doubt Spencer survived-"

"-I don't care," Aria yelled determinedly over the cracking of the fire, "I need to know for sure. What if she _is_ alive? We could save her!"

"Aria," Hanna screamed, "How can you be so ready to trust her again? She betrayed us, betrayed _you_! You can't be sure that she won't hurt you again!"

Aria looked between her two friends frantically. They both looked at her like she would crack any minute, like she was a porcelain doll that would break with just one flick to the ear. But Aria knew that she was stronger than that. Maybe Spencer was evil, or maybe she wasn't, but Aria wouldn't know unless Spencer was there to tell her herself.

She made her decision.

"I'll be the judge of that," she stated, before running back into the flaming abyss, not returning for the blanket for protection, and not looking back to see the panicked expressions on Emily and Hanna's faces. They turned to each other, shock and worry eminent in their voices.

"What do we do?" Hanna screeched. "She'll get KILLED!"

"Aria's smart, she'll find a way out of it," Emily claimed, defeated. "If saving Spencer gives her peace of mind, then so be it. Right now, _we_ need to get to safety."

And with that, Hanna and Emily wrapped the blanket back around themselves and reluctantly pressed forward.

* * *

Aria worked her way once more through the maze of flames, struggling to breath. The only thing that kept her going was knowing that somewhere, under all those flames, Spencer was waiting for her. It took a while, as she was starting to lose her hearing and sight, but she finally managed to navigate all the way back to room 14B, where Spencer was still lying unconscious on the floor.

"Spencer," Aria whispered, tears filling her eyes. She looked back into the hallway, where the fire was thickening by the second. How was she going to get herself _and_ Spencer back out safely? She hadn't thought this through thoroughly enough, and now she was truly scared.

Aria collapsed to her knees, struggling for air. She thought she was going to throw up. She tried to slow her breathing, but she couldn't seem to stop hyperventilating. This was the end. She knew it. _No it's not_, a voice inside her head stated. _You can still save yourself and Spencer if you just keep moving_.

That did the trick. Refusing to waste any more time pondering over it, Aria picked herself off the ground, grabbed Spencer's shoulders, and hoisted her up so that she was on Aria's back. Spencer was not large, so she shouldn't have weighed that much, but Aria, who was still significantly smaller than Spencer, began to shake under the weight of her taller friend. She began to drag Spencer forward, and hesitantly began to take a step into the flames, when suddenly she felt something hard hit her in her side, causing her to fly across the room.

Aria dropped Spencer as her back made contact with the wall. She closed her eyes, wincing in pain, but when she opened them her breath caught in her throat.

Ali was standing over her, a look of contempt on her face, as she held Aria against the wall. Aria squirmed vigorously, but Ali was considerably stronger and was able to hold down the smaller girl with ease.

Finally, Aria let her arms slacken and just glared at her old best friend, breathing heavily but refusing to say anything. Alison flashed her a conniving smile. "Don't look at me like that," she oozed hideously, "you had this coming."

"What are you talking about?" Aria snapped after clearing her throat. "What did I EVER do to you? What did ANY of us do? We were nothing but nice to you, and you continued to treat us like garbage while we followed you around like lost puppies. And THIS is how you repay us? Emily _loved_ you, and Hanna literally wanted to be you and everything about you! And Spencer-"

"-just stop while you're ahead, Aria," Alison said coolly, "Although you do bring up an interesting point. We've got Emily and Hanna adoring me, and Spencer going against all three of you just to join forces with me-"

"-she wouldn't do that," Aria spat, although she still wasn't entirely sure that was true.

"And yet," Alison continued, ignoring Aria's outburst, "where does that leave you?"

Aria stiffened. What was she talking about? Leave her _where_?

Alison smiled evilly once again. "You know why I picked you, right?"

_Picked_ her? It all seemed so familiar. _Of course_! Alison had asked her this when Aria was sick, when she had dreamed about her. Although she was beginning to suspect it wasn't actually a dream.

"Picked me for what?" she asked timidly, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Alison popped her hip out, in the way she was known for doing, and stuck her finger to her chin in a contemplative manner, while still keeping a firm hold on Aria. "Ever notice that you've gotten it fairly easy these past two years? I mean, yeah, I tried to throw you off a train, and I tried to break apart your family and your relationship between you and your boyfriend-"

"-cut to the chase Ali," Aria barked impatiently as her eyes darted around the room. Spencer was sprawled motionless on the floor, and the flames began to lick the doorframe, getting dangerously close to swallowing the room whole.

Ali just smirked. "I was simply saving the best for last."

"Why me?" Aria cried. "What did I do to make you want to avenge me like this?! Whatever it is, just tell me now!"

At this retort, Alison smacked Aria back against the wall in a show of strength and got right up in her face. "It doesn't matter what you did or didn't do, what matters is what your _family_ did!" Alison spat out venomously. "What your _father_ did to me."

Alison's blow knocked the wind out of Aria, but as soon as she caught her breath she sputtered out, "M-my father?"

Alison's face contorted into an expression that said _Now I've got your attention_, while Aria continued to process this information. "But… is this about the blackmail? How he didn't pay you the second time? IS THAT WHAT ALL OF THIS IS ABOUT?" She was shouting now, salty tears streaming down her face and into her mouth, but she didn't care. She needed to know why Alison would hold a grudge for this long.

Alison just gripped tighter on Aria's pale, thin arms, causing her to wince again. "It's not about the _goddamn_ blackmail, Aria!" she growled. "It's about what _led_ me to the blackmail! About why I needed the money in the first place!"

"What does my dad have to do with any of that?!"

"DON'T YOU _GET IT_?!" Ali was now the one shouting. "I needed that money because I was PREGNANT! How do you think I got that way?"

2 seconds passed. Then 5. Then 10. Until Aria finally got it, and the truth made her blood run cold.

"My dad is the Beach Hottie?"

* * *

**Don't forget to review! I accept guest reviewers as well, so PLEASE review, favorite, whatever you need to do if you like it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: You guys are WONDERFUL! Thank you so much for the kind words. I was only planning on this being a one/two-shot, but now I'm sucked in and just wanna keep going! This chapter is kinda long, but it's chock full of good stuff, so brace yourselves :)**

* * *

Silence was shared between the two girls. The only sound heard was the cackling of fire in the background. It almost sounded as though it was mocking them. Mocking Aria, specifically.

Something shone in Alison's eyes, but Aria couldn't pinpoint it. Was it… remorse? Fear? Whatever it was, Alison tried to shake it off as she continued talking.

"It was before you found out about his affair with Meredith. I… I had already known, but I played it off as though I didn't." Alison's voice shook as she told the tale, and it was worrying Aria. She had never seen Ali look so… _vulnerable_.

"How did you find out?" Aria spoke calmly, although her mind was screaming.

"I liked to hang around Hollis at the time. Gaze at all the cute college boys. But your dad… I kept seeing him around campus, and he would just keep _gazing_ at me, like some… _predator_. He would do the same thing when I would be over at your house too…"

_No_, Aria thought. _No no no no NO!_

"And then one day I saw him and Meredith together in his office. They were clearly flirting, and I… I got scared. Not just for me, but for her, too. Any young girl, really. It's _creepy_, Aria."

Aria realized that she had been holding her breath, and let the air out of her lungs. She and her dad never had the best relationship ever since she… _caught_ him, but she never viewed him as _creepy_.

Alison sighed, and then continued. "So I told him off after she left. And then he… he _pushed_ me against the door and tried to…. _grope_ me."

Aria's eyes grew wide. She thought it was bad enough when her father was an adulterer, but if what Ali was saying was true, he a _pervert_ as well?

"I managed to escape before it got too bad, but I was _angry_," Ali continued, her voice cracking yet still steady and booming, "and I wanted to get back at him, so on Halloween I took you to where I knew he would be with _her_." She enunciated on _her_ like it was a disease. "Meredith."

Aria could feel the blood draining from her face, from her limbs, from her entire body, and she knew if Ali weren't holding her up she would have fainted and have joined Spencer on the ground. "You _used me_ to try to get back at _him_?" Aria whispered, bewildered. "You… you're the reason I cried myself to sleep at night for _2 years_ because I held a secret that, if released, could ruin my family forever? You're the reason I had to _keep this from my mother_ and carry this burden for so long?"

"Aria-"

Aria could've stopped there, but she kept going, her voice increasing in volume with each sentence. "You TOOK ME TO HIM knowing that he would make me keep it a secret because I'm so _weak_? That it would put a _strain_ on our relationship and _hurt him_? Well, did you ever think about whether or not it would hurt ME TOO? I could barely look at either of my parents during that time! I was completely heartbroken and couldn't stop thinking about how I was letting my family down!"

"Aria, LISTEN!"

"No, YOU listen!" Aria snapped. "You RUINED my life before you even BEGAN this A torture! I can't believe you would use me to get to my own father! Did you ever care about me at all?"

Alison finally shut Aria up by wrapping her spidery fingers along Aria's neck, causing Aria to choke and sputter in Alison's face, which was still dangerously close to Aria's. "Let. Me. FINISH."

Aria weakly nodded her head, and Alison released her grip as Aria gasped for air, even though the air around her was so polluted by the flames that she might as well have kept choking. Alison just held Aria's shoulders in place and kept talking.

"My original plan was for you to TELL on him," Alison scowled, "but the one flaw was that you had ZERO BACKBONE, and frankly still do…" She said this with an appraising glance at Aria, who was crumbling under Alison's glowering eyes. "So I took matters into my own hands. I decided to make a little money off of the situation by blackmailing him. All he wanted was to keep his precious family under control, so he complied at first. But the next time he got mad. He lashed out in anger and…"

_No_, Aria thought again. It couldn't be true. Her father wasn't a monster. But with Alison's next words, the worst was confirmed.

"He raped me Aria."

That was it. Aria had snapped. She flailed under Alison's hold, struggling to break free. "You're LYING!" she exclaimed.

"WHY WOULD I LIE NOW?" Alison shouted back while she continued to hold Aria down. "He RAPED me and got me PREGNANT and he never paid the rest of my GODDAMN blackmail that I needed to get an ABORTION behind my parents' BACKS! And it was because of HIM that I NEEDED the abortion in the FIRST place! HE OWED ME!"

With each emphasized phrase, she would shake Aria and slam her tiny body against the wall, causing her to scream in pain each time to the point that she had a headache. Once Alison stopped, Aria opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and her head was pounding, but she could see that Alison was crying. She almost felt bad for her, but suddenly remembered all that happened and came to her senses.

Hatred oozing through her voice, Aria whispered, "Just because of what he did to you, doesn't give you justification to lash out on me, or _any_ of us."

"Doesn't it, though?" Alison smirked. "You let me down when I needed you the most. If you had simply told your mother, we could've avoided this whole situation."

"Ali-"

"I wouldn't have to _fake my own death_ and run away so that I could raise a child because _there would be no child to begin with_!"

"How could you expect me to tear apart my family that way?" Aria cried. "I don't tell my mom, and she hates me. I _tell_ my mom, and my dad hates me. I couldn't win!"

"You should've thought about whether _I_ would hate you or not!" Ali spat through gritted teeth.

"How? I didn't even know at the time!" Aria screamed. It was all too much. Her father, her own flesh and blood, was a _pedophile_, and a _monster_, and it was because of him that she and her friends were being tortured this entire time. It was all because of him, _and_ because of Aria, that A- ALISON- was after her and her friends. And right now, her friends were probably worried about her as they were waiting nervously in the lobby for Aria to emerge. But her emergence was becoming less and less likely as the flames became thicker and thicker and were getting closer and closer to where she and Ali were positioned in the corner. And to make matters worse, Spencer, the whole reason she came back, _still hadn't woken up_.

"Ignorance is no excuse," Alison said simply.

After several seconds Aria started to calm down and looked back up at Alison. "Why not just target me then? Why target Spencer, Hanna, and Emily?"

"Isn't it obvious darling?" Ali laughed maliciously, looking down at Aria like she was the most pathetic little thing. "_To make you suffer even more_."

No.

"To sadden you, knowing that your friends were going through this much pain."

_No_.

"And then finally, to deliver the final blow. Simply _saving the best for last_."

NO.

Aria couldn't take it. She tried to lunge at Alison, but Alison was simply too strong. She threw Aria back against the wall with such force that Aria yelped. With this force, the hood of Alison's red coat, which had been up this entire time, finally fell, and the light from the fire shined on her face to reveal her long, golden locks and her perfectly symmetrical features that no longer seemed innocently beautiful. They now seemed malicious and loathsome, full of dark secrets that could never be revived; the kind of evil, villainous beauty that made one tremble at the sight. And Aria did just that. She let out a shaky breath as she tried to pry her eyes away from her old best friend, but Alison wouldn't allow it. She grabbed Aria's face, still holding tightly onto one of Aria's shoulders, and stated blatantly:

"I am going to take that flashlight on the ground over there, knock you out, and run out the door. You will die in here, your scrawny body becoming nothing more than a pile of char and ashes, and that'll be it. My work will be done. And Hanna and Emily will _never _find out my true motivations, and it will drive _them_ to the point of killing _them_selves. It's all so perfectly laid out. And it all starts with that flashlight and your cooperation."

"You… you _bitch_," Aria sputtered, not believing her ears. At this, Alison laughed maniacally, but Aria found nothing about this funny. "You're a _monster_. You never cared about any of us!"

"Look who's catching on?" Alison smirked with a final wink as she slammed Aria into the wall one last time, only this time she let go, causing Aria to hit the wall and immediately collapse to the ground in pain. As Alison went to grab the flashlight, Aria could've easily run out the door right then and there, but she couldn't. She was too weak. There was barely any oxygen left in her lungs, and her back was probably littered with bruises. With her injuries, and the knowledge that her two best friends and her own father had betrayed her, she knew she was gone. This was the end.

She looked over to Spencer, and didn't know what to think. Was she dead? Was she still simply comatose? Aria sighed as she lay there, and was about to close her eyes and embrace the death she knew was coming when something caught her eye.

Movement.

Had Spencer… _stirred_?

Aria's eyes shot open, and so did Spencer's. Aria looked over to Alison, who was still working her way through the smoke to find the hard, metal flashlight that would trigger Aria's death once and for all, and then looked back and Spencer. Spencer delivered a quick wink before closing her eyes and remaining still once again. Aria gulped. She knew that she had to trust Spencer now more than ever. But could she?

She didn't have time to think, because Alison leisured her way over to Aria, whacking the flashlight repeatedly into her hand in a threatening manner as she took each step. This entire time, Alison seemed to be completely immune to the flames surrounding her, almost as though she was invincible. _I guess being missing this entire time was done wonders for her lung capacity_, Aria thought to herself, but she was broken out of her thoughts when she looked up to find Alison hovering over her. Aria knew she had to look convincing, so she backed herself into the wall, never taking her pleading eyes off of Alison. Alison shook her head in mock sympathy.

"Well, my dear," Alison began in a voice that dripped loathing, "I'm sorry things had to end this way."

"No, you're not," Aria croaked nastily, but as she said it, she wondered if it would be the last words she would ever say. When was Spencer going to interfere?! Could she _really_ count on her to save her?

At Aria's snap, Alison just shrugged and lifted the flashlight high in the air, ready to strike. But before she could bring it down on poor Aria's head, before she could knock her out and leave her to burn in the disintegrating building, before ANY of that could happen, there was the sound of a collision, and Alison was nearly catapulted to the other side of the room, her red coat imprinted with a large, dirty heel print and her flashlight soaring through the air, only to clatter to the ground and roll conveniently toward where Aria feebly lay. Aria lifted her head, and sure enough, there was Spencer, but Spencer didn't have enough time to look back down at Aria, because she had, in one swift motion, grabbed the flashlight and whacked Alison on the side of the head with it. Alison fell back to the ground as her entire body went limp and her head gushed with blood. Spencer stood up, admiring her work. She looked back to Aria and gave her a mischievous smile that Aria had grown up loving.

"Now THAT'S what I call PAYBACK," Spencer grinned. Aria tried to smile, but the slight movement of her lips caused her to fall into a fit of coughing. Spencer rushed to her side, rubbing Aria's back soothingly as she surveyed the scene around her. The room was nearly completely engulfed in flames, and there was no way they could go back into the hallway now. They waited too long. The fire had most definitely expanded by now. Spencer kept looking around, until her eyes landed on the wall by the bedside. There was a part of the wall that had not yet been consumed by the fire, and if they hurried they could break out of the room through that opening.

Spencer looked back at her friend who, though still beautiful as always, looked horrible. She was covered in soot, and she was coughing uncontrollably. Spencer's throat felt excruciatingly sore from exposure to the fire, but she had been asleep this entire time. Aria had been awake through it all, breathing in the polluted air while Alison held her down, unphased by Aria's helpless flails. It made Spencer sick, especially knowing that it was partly her fault. But she didn't have any more time to continue internally bashing her poor decisions because the fire was spreading faster. She grabbed Aria's arm.

"C'mon," she yelled over the crack of the flames, "let's get you out of here!"

Aria moaned in pain. She couldn't move. Spencer was running out of options, so she urgently picked Aria up in her arms, with very little trouble because Aria was so light, luckily, and carried her over to the opening. For being in Radley for merely 72 hours, Spencer had learned a lot, and one of the many things she had learned was that her room, and Mona's room, didn't have a window to it because it was made of drywall. Spencer shifted her limp friend so that she hung over her shoulder, and then reached for the flashlight. With all the strength she could muster while still holding Aria, she swung the flashlight at the wall, causing it to dent. With one more swing, she caused the wall to shatter open completely in a shower of debris and ash. It was just big enough for her and Aria to fit through, so Spencer got down to her knees and looked down. The jump was pretty high up, and she wasn't sure if she could make it with a badly injured Aria on her back. Yet she knew she didn't have a choice, so she closed her eyes and slid off, causing her to hit the ground and roll onto the grass as Aria rolled over her and kept rolling until she stopped a few feet away.

Spencer felt searing pain in her ankle from falling on it, but she found a way to ignore it as she crawled over to Aria, who was starting to open her eyes again. The two girls looked up at the Sanitarium, which was now completely immersed in flames, but frankly neither cared what happened to it. In their minds, the institution was Hell, even without the fire. Spencer looked down at Aria, whose perfect porcelain features were illuminated by the flames, and noticed something new in her eyes. Earlier, she noticed the anxiety and fear, but now she saw something else.

Loss.

Spencer knew exactly how she felt. This was how she felt when she first found out Toby was on the A-Team, like she had lost everything. But looking down at Aria, and everything that had happened to her tonight, Spencer began to realize that what Aria had gone through was much worse. And part of it was because of her.

"Aria," Spencer choked out, "I hope you know that I… I never meant to hurt you. I'm so, so sorry that this had to happen to you, to all of you. I just… I needed to find out more, and I needed to _stop_ it all-"

"It's not your fault," Aria said emotionlessly as she continued to stare into flames. "It's mine."

"What? Aria-"

"-it is, and you know it," Aria spoke out in the same monotone voice, only this time it had a slight quiver to it, and it was enough to melt Spencer's heart. "You heard what she said."

"Wha.. what are you-"

"Please," Aria interrupted, "Don't make me say it out loud." She still staring into the flames, an empty look on her face. After a minute, she finally looked at Spencer.

"Tell me honestly," Aria said so quietly that Spencer could barely hear her. "How much of what Alison told me did you hear?"

There was silence as Spencer thought about this. Did it really matter what she did or didn't hear? But Aria was now facing Spencer fully, an insistent, yet pitiful, look in those hazel eyes. Spencer used to joke that Aria had the kind of eyes that she could simply widen like a small dog and she could get whatever she wanted; she could lure anyone in, and pry any kind of information out of them. It was friendly and playful at the time, but now Spencer just felt pressured and guilty by the way Aria was looking at her. Spencer continued to study Aria's fair face, and saw that Aria was begging for a response.

And with that, Spencer figured out why it was so important. If Spencer wasn't conscious to witness it, Aria could pretend it never happened; she could pretend she had imagined the whole thing, and deny to herself over and over again that it was ever real until she was sure of it. But if Spencer had seen and heard it all, the worst would be confirmed.

"I-" Spencer began, but she didn't know what kind of answer she should give. But with one look at Aria's face, she knew she needed to be honest. Spencer bowed her head in shame. "All of it."

And with that, Aria finally cracked. She broke down into tears for what seemed like the 20th time that week, and Spencer just embraced her while stroking her hair and kissing the back of her head and doing whatever she could to comfort her best friend. But Aria could not be comforted. Her father had _raped_ her best friend, her friend that was _her age_, causing her to lash out on Aria and the other girls, all because Aria wasn't strong enough to tell her mother about her father's affair. He never loved her mother, and Ali never loved Aria, or any of the girls. It was because of Aria that Mona had stabbed Hanna in the back. It was because of Aria that Toby had broken Spencer's heart. It was because of Aria that Emily had gotten drugged and nearly framed for the theft of a body that Aria now wasn't even sure was there in the first place. It was because of Aria that these past two years have been absolute Hell for her and her friends.

All of this was running through Aria's head as she choked on her own sobs, toggling between crying and coughing and struggling for breath. Spencer knew that she and Aria needed to get to an emergency room, what with Spencer's possibly sprained ankle and Aria's bad reaction to the fire, but for the time being she simply looked over at the still disintegrating Sanitarium that was up in flames as she held onto Aria's petite frame that was shaking with sobs.

It wouldn't matter how quickly they got to the emergency room. Nothing would be the same anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi guys! Once again, I'm in complete awe in the amazing response this story has gotten. Thank you all SO SO MUCH for your kind reviews. A few of you told me that you're amazed that this is my first story, and first of all: THANK YOU! That means so much! And second of all: I simply learn from the best. I'm just a longtime reader and I've picked up some stuff along the way from some of the best writers on this site (shout out to ihavealifeiswear- everyone go read her work, it's fantastic. If you think Sparia is at their best here, get a load of what SHE has to offer!) And I just realized ShadowsOnTheMoon and MagicInMe123 had favorited this, and I wanted you both to know that I'm a fan of BOTH of your stories and am SO EXCITED for you to write more (Especially you MagicInMe123- PLEASE don't disappear for another 2 months from Save Me, my heart can't deal!)**

**As far as the story goes, this chapter is a little bit shorter than the others have been, but that's just because the other half of it would've made it so LONG, so I had to split it. No worries, the next chapter is already written and should be up later tonight... if you guys are good I MIGHT just upload it before tonight's finale ;) Also, someone requested more Ezria and Spoby, and as far as Spoby goes I'm not entirely sure if I want Toby to be alive here... but there is a hint of it in this chapter. And as for Ezria... Patience!**

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"She should be fine," the middle-aged doctor was saying as he snapped off his rubber gloves after wrapping gauze around Spencer's ankle. "It's definitely sprained, but if she is well rested and keeps it propped up often, it should be healed in no time. Just keep her on the medication and have her apply ointment to those burns. Oh, and keep an eye on that bruise on her head. There are no signs of a concussion, but it's still early."

"Thank you, Doctor," Veronica Hastings said in the same voice she used with her clients. She even reached out to shake the doctor's hand. "We'll be sure to look after her."

Spencer barely managed to suppress an eye roll. She knew as soon as she was released from the hospital, her parents would go back to not even giving her a second glance and she'd be on her own when it came to taking care of herself. Sure enough, as soon as her mother had released her grip from the doctor's hand, she flashed Spencer a curt smile and then was out of the room, typing away on her Blackberry. Spencer was at the point that it didn't even bother her anymore. All she cared about now was seeing her friends. She grabbed the doctor's arm.

"Am I allowed to leave this room?" she asked politely. "I want to see how my friends are doing."

"Of course," the doctor said with a warm smile. "I'll have a nurse bring you a wheelchair."

Spencer thanked him, and as soon as he left, she collapsed back onto the hospital bed and let out an exasperated sigh, wondering to herself how things had gotten so bad, so fast. Back at the Sanitarium, the fire department had managed to suppress the fire, and Emily and Hanna had walked countless circles around the building until they finally found Spencer, who looked almost as lost and broken and confused as when she first discovered Toby was A, and Aria, who had exhausted herself from crying so hard and had passed out on Spencer's lap. Spencer tearfully told them that Ali was probably dead inside, that she had died with the fire when Spencer hit her in the head, and that maybe this could all be over.

But the harder Spencer thought about it, the more she couldn't be sure. After all, they thought it was all over when they found out Mona was A, but the A-team simply bounced back with more members. She hadn't found out much from the few days that she was on the team, as her assignments only involved working with Mona, but she knew there was a possibility that Ali wasn't the only other member involved, and even though all this trauma had happened, people might _still_ not believe them when they said that _Mona_ was still after them. And Toby…

_Toby_.

She thought for sure he was dead. She saw his body, his _tattoo_ that confirmed it. But then she thought of Mona, and how smart and conniving she was. Spencer was _this close_ to admitting to the possibility that Mona could be smarter than she was. Was there a possibility that she was simply being played? That this was just Mona's plan to have her join the team in the first place?

_Whatever her plan was_, Spencer thought sadly, _it worked. I fell for it; even if it wasn't in the way she wanted me to_.

As she ran through her mind the endless number of ways that Mona had played her, she then thought of how Toby had played her. If he never loved her, he was really convincing at looking like he did. The affection he showed in his deep blue eyes when he looked at her, the way he held her close when she was upset or afraid, the soothing tone to his voice when he said her name. The thought that the last time she ever heard him say her name was when he was donning a black hoodie gave Spencer goose bumps. She could almost hear him saying it now.

"Spencer."

Wait… last time she checked Toby didn't have a British accent.

She looked up to find a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes and a charming white smile looking down upon her. Wren was in his scrubs, but he stepped into her room anyway, trying to look as though he wasn't busy.

Spencer looked at him quizzically. "Shouldn't you be saving peoples' lives right now?"

He tucked his hands in his pockets while bowing his head bashfully. "I'm on my break at the moment, and I heard about the fire and that you were somehow involved. I figured it would be considered ill-mannered if I didn't visit you." He walked over and pressed his hands onto the bed. "Are you alright?"

Spencer just smirked. "Is that your fear of being ill-mannered speaking?"

He just laughed along with her. "That was a joke." But then his face changed to one of true concern. "Truly, though. Are you badly hurt?"

_On the inside, yes_, Spencer thought to herself. _But on the outside_… "Just a sprained ankle and a few scratches and burns. Nothing serious. I'm more worried about my friends."

"Let me take you to them!" Wren offered, standing back up.

"That's ok! There should be a nurse to bring me a wheelchair any minute now."

He simply raised his eyebrows, revealing a twinkle in his eye. "Believe me, you don't want to be navigating these halls on your own. Gurneys being led left and right; you could easily get run over. This _is_ Rosewood, after all."

A plump nurse brought in a wheelchair for Spencer, and Wren reassured the woman that he'd take it from here. He held his hand out to Spencer, who looked up at him and smiled for what seemed like the first time in weeks as she accepted it. In fact, if her memory was correct, this was the first time she had smiled since she had gone out to dinner with him recently.

Their walk down the hall was silent. They were getting closer to where Aria, Hanna, and Emily were, when Wren suddenly stopped pushing the wheelchair. He pulled Spencer to the side, walked forward, and leaned down in front of her so that he was at eye level with her.

"Spencer," he spoke softly, "are you _certain_ you're okay?"

"Wren, I'm-"

"-say what you want, but I don't think you are," he said determinedly. "Last time I saw you, you were rummaging through Mona's belongings in Radley in a white nightgown, looking like you hadn't slept in days."

"I was just stressed, like you probably heard," Spencer shrugged. After all, that was what her parents were telling everyone. Why shouldn't she play along? "I mean, I had just found out about-"

"-Toby," Wren finished for her. "I know. And it was selfish of me to try to make a move on you a few nights prior to that when you clearly still had feelings for him at the time."

"It's not like it matters now," Spencer mumbled, lowering her head. "He's dead."

Wren opened his mouth, and then closed it. Spencer had claimed the day he had gone to visit her that she had seen Toby's body, but he had heard from multiple sources that there was no proof that this was true. Not knowing what else to do, Wren reached out and grabbed Spencer's hand.

"I don't know if that's true or not," Wren said truthfully, "but I do know that it's not worth this much suffering. You can easily find someone who will deliver to your expectations just as well, if not even better, than he ever did."

Spencer bit her lip. She wanted to tell him that it wouldn't be that hard, considering he didn't meet her expectations in a genuine manner, but she decided against it as she looked into Wren's brown eyes that seemed to be so warm and welcoming. Wren made her happy, and he had been very patient with her. Wasn't it about time that she moved on to someone who had _real_ feelings for her?

Spencer patted his hand with a grateful "Thank you", and with that Wren got off of his knees and pushed Spencer the rest of the distance to where her friends were.


	5. Chapter 5

**Finale tonight! Who's excited? I AM! Keep the reviews coming you guys, I love it! You're all awesome!**

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Aria lay in her hospital bed in silence as Hanna stood by her, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, and Emily sat across the room staring out the window, confused and hurt. Aria believed she had every right to be; Emily's first love had been behind this all along, and Emily could only assume that Alison's intentions were never good to begin with. She had led herself to believe that somewhere, deep down, Alison loved her back, but Ali was merely playing games the entire time.

It must have been mortifying for Emily, and Aria couldn't help but feel like it was her fault.

Hanna seemed to be able to read Aria's mind, because she leaned to the side and surveyed Aria's face. "Stop," she said sternly. "Don't think about it. You've been through enough tonight, okay?"

Aria would never be able to stop thinking about it, but she curtly nodded her head. Spencer had told Hanna and Emily everything that had happened between Aria and Alison in the fire, and it upset Hanna greatly. Not that A was after her because of Aria; she could deal with that, and she knew it wasn't Aria's fault in the least. It was the fact that Alison carried this need for vengeance for so long and was so easily able to turn her back on her four supposed best friends. Did she ever love them? It _was_ a little strange, looking back, that she picked the four of them to be her best friends. They were all so… different. Spencer was an uptight, overly ambitious nerd; Emily was a timid, closeted swimmer; Aria was a kooky, artistically talented outsider; and _Hanna_ was an awkward, overweight loser. Things had obviously changed since then, but Hanna always knew that she and the other girls did not fit in with this beautiful, goddess-like Queen Bee who attracted secrets like street lamps attracted moths. Were they simply there for her to play with them like puppets? To manipulate and maneuver them for her own personal pleasure?

Hanna was pulled out of her gruesome thoughts by a knock on the door; Wren was standing in the doorway, rolling in a wheelchair that sat Spencer, who had changed out of her party dress (and most likely thrown it away, since it was singed in all the wrong places) and into a hospital gown.

"I bring a visitor!" Wren spoke excitedly while flashing them a 100-watt smile. His comment hung in the air with the noticeable tautness in the room as all three of the girls stared at him. Wren took the hint, so he gave the handles of the chair one final pat before leaving the room so that the girls could talk.

Spencer looked around at her friends. Hanna and Emily managed to escape the fire with little damage, but they were still scratched up in a few places and had burns on their faces and arms that were covered with bandages. Emily also had a noticeable scab right above her eyebrow, but it luckily didn't look like anything serious.

Aria looked a lot better than Spencer expected her to, but still pretty bad. She had blisters all along her arms, and her hair was tied back to reveal the scratches and burns on her face that contrasted so drastically with her pale skin. Spencer could only begin to imagine what was on Aria's back.

The room was silent for a solid minute, as the girls were not entirely sure what to say to each other, until Aria cleared her throat and asked hoarsely, as her throat was still damaged from the smoke, "Are… are you okay?"

_Funny_, Spencer thought, _I've been getting that question a lot tonight_. But she looked Aria in the eyes and said, "I should be asking you that."

Aria just looked down at the covers, where her hands were folded in her lap. "I'm fine. I'm just glad they took me off of that oxygen mask."

"Yeah," Spencer breathed, "I can imagine." She then looked at Emily and Hanna. "What about you guys?"

Hanna leaned back against the wall and held up her arm. "It just stings a little," she said while rubbing her bandage.

Emily turned away from the window and eyed Spencer suspiciously. "You got hit in the head pretty hard Spencer… they didn't check you for brain damage?"

"No, they did," Spencer piped up, "they just didn't find anything..." Spencer's eyes wandered between the three girls, who were sitting there awkwardly before her. Spencer averted her eyes and continued. "But I mean I guess it's a good thing… with me being a Hastings and all. Brain damage means immediate disinheritance." With this, Spencer let out a nervous laugh, and looked around, hoping the others would join. But none of them did.

Spencer internally sighed. She should've expected this. She should've known that after what she did the girls would stop trusting her. She looked around the room. Emily was trying to keep herself from looking at Spencer. Hanna shifted her feet uncomfortably every few seconds, seemingly unsure of herself or what was going through her mind. And Aria… Aria didn't give Spencer a look of hurt or suspicion or anger, but if Spencer looked deep enough, she could almost see _fear_.

That was the last thing Spencer wanted. She could take the girls being mad at her for as long as they needed, even though it was painful now, but she did _not_ want them being afraid of her. But Aria looked so helpless and afraid under her bed covers that Spencer knew she needed to clear this mess up once and for all.

She looked at Emily and Hanna. "Guys… can I talk to Aria for a minute?"

The two shared a glance, and then Emily hesitantly rose from her seat by the window and walked out of the room. Hanna followed in suit, but not without sending Spencer a glare that said: _You hurt her, I hurt you_.

Spencer closed her eyes and took a breath, willing herself not to cry, and then wheeled herself over to Aria's bed. "Have your parents come to see you yet?"

Aria tilted her head back toward the ceiling, as if by doing so she could easily avoid the question. "I begged the doctor not to call them."

Spencer's heart sank. She wanted to punch Byron in the face for doing this to his daughter, yet she knew Aria needed a parental figure to look after her in the hospital. The girl was nearly _burned alive_ after all.

"You don't have to call him," Spencer suggested, "you can just call your mom."

Aria just shook her head. "She would call my dad before I could even get a _chance_ to tell her not to." She then let out a disbelieving laugh. "She has no idea how sick he is."

Spencer's insides churned hearing Aria say this. She knew Aria and her father hadn't had the easiest time ever since Meredith entered his life, but hearing Aria think this of her own father made Spencer want to jump up, regardless of her impaired state, and hug Aria's fragile body and stop all of the bad things from happening. Spencer herself was not a huge fan of her _own_ father, but his extent went as far as never showing pride in her schoolwork or always trying to buy her happiness. What Aria's father had done to her was truly sickening and disgusting, and it was even worse to have Aria admit to this out loud.

Aria tried to sit up, but winced with every cautious lurch forward. She finally managed to prop herself into a sitting position and composed herself before looking to Spencer. "You know, if you hadn't broken my fall by carrying me like that, I could've broken my leg or something. You saved me."

Spencer widened her eyes. "SAVED you? I'm the reason you're here in the first place!"

Aria just sighed. "You and I both know that that fire was coming sooner or later, whether we anticipated it, started it, whatever. It's like you said, they've been planning this for ages!"

Spencer just sat back in her wheelchair. Yeah, she did say that.

Aria studied Spencer apprehensively. "How's your ankle?"

Spencer just let out a half-hearted laugh. "Clearly not as bad as your back!"

Aria gave a pathetic smile and sighed. "It's not that bad, I promise. Just a little bruised is all."

"Is that what you're gonna say about your _brain_ when people ask you why you're so depressed?" Spencer asked lightly, but was completely serious at the same time. Aria hesitated at this, which was answer enough for Spencer. "I've been there. And trust me, it doesn't work."

Aria slowly reached out and grabbed Spencer's hand and placed it in hers. "I know," she said sadly, "but maybe you can help me out with that."

Spencer looked up at Aria, and noticed that the fear in her countenance, though still there, had diminished slightly.

"You've been through so much these past two years, Spencer, this past month especially. And you've handled it beautifully."

At this, Spencer just snorted. "Yeah, if by beautifully you mean had a mental breakdown, ended up in a prison for the criminally insane, and drove myself to the point that I turned my back on all of you, then yeah, I guess I did a pretty good job."

"Honestly," Aria shook her head in disbelief, "I wouldn't have done much better…" She then looked back down at her hands again. "… and I'm not doing such a good job right now."

Spencer squeezed Aria's hands that were still enclosed around hers. "You're doing just fine," she told her, "way better than I ever did, and your situation is way worse."

Aria looked at Spencer incredulously. "How is what _I'm_ going through worse than what _you're_ going through?" Aria asked loudly.

"I'd tell you, but I'd rather not relive the details for your sake," Spencer warned.

"Details or not, your situation is worse. My _boyfriend_ was never A," Aria stated matter-of-factly, "unless of course there's something Ezra's not telling me…"

It was supposed to be a breezy comment, but Spencer could tell that Aria was saying it with a heavy heart, almost as though she _truly believed_ her own soul mate could turn on her like that. That was how far Spencer had messed Aria up: to the point that she began to lose trust in everyone.

A tear rolled down Spencer's cheek, one that she quickly wiped away with her free hand. She swallowed her unshed tears and cleared her throat. "I can't even begin to express how sorry I am. It was a terrible mistake."

"Spencer, you've already apologized."

"I don't care! Look what happened to you!" Spencer rasped out, motioning with her hand to Aria's weak and injured state. "I betrayed you guys by trying to stop the A-team, only for them to find out and hurt you guys as punishment. And let's not forget that _I never even found anything out_! And what was the outcome? You almost got killed, Emily and Hanna will never forgive me, and A is probably still out to get us! We're just back to where we started!"

"First of all, Emily and Hanna do not hate you," Aria pointed out, "they'll come around."

"Oh, please!" Spencer exclaimed hopelessly. "They keep shooting me glances like they're walking on egg shells with me, like they can't _trust_ me, which, when you think about it, is completely justified!"

"Spence, it is not justified, and they do not-"

"-don't you dare deny it," Spencer held up her hand to signal that Aria not interrupt, and then paused; her tone suddenly softened. "I even catch you looking at me like that. I can tell you're still afraid of me."

Aria sighed and looked to the ceiling. "I'm gonna be honest, I was at first. But deep down I know you'll never hurt me. Especially after what you did for me tonight."

Spencer looked up to find Aria giving her a small, toothless smile, and all the fear from her face vanished. Spencer felt incredibly relieved. She had earned Aria's trust, for the most part.

But suddenly, Aria's face fell again. "I've been thinking a lot about what Ali said to me…"

Spencer straightened her posture at the mention of Ali's name. "Oh. Okay, tell me."

Aria sighed, tears filling her eyes. "When she kidnapped me on the Halloween train… what if that was her first attempt to kill me? Version 1.0 of her 'saving the best for last'?"

Spencer cocked her head in confusion, causing Aria to lean forward and ignore the excruciating pain soaring up her lower back.

"If I had fallen off of that train," she explained, tears streaming down her cheeks, "if I had _died_ in that box with Garrett, it would have been the end of it for you guys. Alison would've gotten her revenge, and she wouldn't need to torture the three of you anymore. Everything that happened tonight… wouldn't have happened."

"You can't think like that-"

"-well I don't have a choice, do I?" Aria bellowed, enunciating each word forcefully the way she always did when she was worked up about something.

Spencer just scooted her chair forward and rubbed Aria's arm.

"You know how I kidnapped Malcolm?" Spencer asked gently. Aria subtly nodded her head as she wiped her eyes dry.

Spencer waited a few seconds before continuing. "Mona made me perform a task to prove I was worthy; to prove I was _loyal_ to the team. She told me I had to harass whichever one of my friends I was closest to in order to justify my membership on the A-team… and I chose you."

Aria glanced up into Spencer's face, her eyes swimming with fresh tears. She sniffled. "R-really?"

"Yes," Spencer said in a quaking voice. "And looking back, it was the worst mistake I could've ever made. Scaring the shit out of you like that, abducting that little boy… forcing you to break up with Ezra…"

At this Aria chewed her lip mournfully, but Spencer kept going. "Even so, it convinced me of how much I love you, Aria. And I don't want you to ever think that you need to disappear from this Earth just to keep us safe…" Spencer let out a shaky breath before continuing. "When I got that text from A… I thought it was all over. There was no way I could handle losing you, and I _needed_ to find you before we reached the end of the line." Spencer paused as a fresh batch of tears formed, then continued as they spilled down her face. "And I was so… thankful… that we got there in time to save you because…" Now the tears were pouring out of Spencer's eyes. "I don't know what I would do without you, Aria. You're all I have left. Please don't l-leave me!"

Spencer then collapsed in tears beside Aria's bed, and Aria wanted nothing more than to hold Spencer the way Spencer had held her, but she wasn't strong enough; if she moved any further forward, her back would snap. So she simply reached as far forward as she could and rubbed Spencer's arm while she whispered soothing words, and even though it was merely the only comfort she could provide, Spencer recognized it as enough, and was just thankful that she was sitting beside her best friend, the only person in the world left to love her, as she became consumed in her own sobs.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: That finale you guys... WHAT?! If I had a nickel for the number of times I screamed out loud, I would be buying Bill Gates out of his mansion. Oh. My. God. I appreciate all of you who said they prefer my story to whatever the finale had to offer, but there's ****_no_**** way I could compete with what just happened last night. Jenna's a lesbian with Shana. Mona kinda sorta teams up with the Liars. Toby's alive. Ezria parallels to the pilot. ****_Ali is Red Coat_****. My brain is officially fried.**

**Anyway, here's another chapter for you wonderful people. Please review with your thoughts, and tell me what you'd like to see in future chapters! Also, be sure to tell me what you all thought of the finale!**

* * *

"_Would you still think it was a mistake if I hadn't seen you with her today?" Aria asked, tears threatening to break free from her eyes.._

"_Yes," Byron said defensively, as he looked at Aria with so much remorse, and_ _PITY_; _exactly the kind of pity that she DIDN'T want right now. "All I'm thinking about right now is your mom, and this family-"_

"_Yeah, well it's too LATE for that!" Aria snapped._

_Byron sighed as he took two careful steps forward. "Aria," he said sternly, "You have every right to be mad at me. But I was hoping it could be less about that and more about protecting her mom."_

_Aria couldn't believe her ears. Her dad wanted her to LIE for him, and if she DIDN'T and Ella found out about the affair, the whole thing would be Aria's fault. Her own father was putting the entire weight of their family on her shoulders; the weight that HE should be carrying considering it was HIS mistake. Finally, the tears broke free, and Aria whimpered, in a voice 2 octaves higher than her regular voice, the truest statement that would ever leave her mouth:_

"_I don't think I can ever forgive you for this."_

* * *

Aria's eyes shot open. She looked around, and realized she was sleeping on the couch in her mom's apartment. No… make that the bed. The door creaked open, startling Aria and making her to jump slightly.

Her mother was in the doorway with a cocked head and a raised eyebrow. "I didn't mean to scare you," she said calmly, "But I heard you talking, so I assumed you were awake."

Aria rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face. "What was I saying?" she mumbled sleepily.

Ella shrugged. "Something about forgiveness and mistakes. You must have just been dreaming…" She then walked over to her daughter and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "You sounded distraught. Do you want to share why?"

Aria just lay with her head on the pillow and her mouth agape, with everything she wanted to say on the tip of her tongue. She knew _exactly_ why she was so distraught, but she wasn't about to share details on the night she found out her dad was cheating on her mother… well, to her mother herself. "Just a nightmare," she lied, although Ella looked far from convinced. So Aria changed the subject. "Why am I in the bed? I usually sleep on the couch."

Ella caringly pushed Aria's raven hair behind her ears and caressed her heart-shaped face, admiring her prominent dark features. "Honey, do you really think I'd put you on the couch after you were nearly killed in a _fire_ last night?"

Aria sighed. "I guess not, but I don't want you to have to sleep on the couch…"

"It's no trouble at all," Ella said, as she leaned down to kiss Aria's forehead, lingering just a little longer than usual. She didn't know everything about what happened the previous night, but she knew enough to know that her baby-girl was very close to dying, and Ella couldn't imagine what her life would be like without her sweet, beautiful, wise-beyond-her-years daughter. "I'm going to make you some breakfast, and you can have your pain medication with it. How do you feel about a vegetarian omelet? I've gotten really good at making them." She added with a warm grin.

Aria smiled as she closed her eyes and pulled the covers back on top of her. "Sounds great," she whispered as she snuggled back into the mattress.

And with that, Ella left the room, leaving Aria feeling more guilty than ever that she was back to keeping secrets from her mother, almost the _same_ secrets, too! Tired of seeing Aria mope around in her hospital bed, Spencer had called up Ella herself, explaining that there had been a fire at Radley Sanitarium, where the four girls had gone to pick up something Spencer had forgotten. Ella was completely stunned and worried and claimed she and Byron would be there right away, but before she could hang up in her rush to her car, Spencer quickly blurted out that she couldn't call up Mr. Montgomery; she spun up a lie that Aria just wanted some mother-daughter time at the moment, and didn't want her dad worrying about her. It was partly true; Aria _did_ miss her mother an awful lot, but as for her dad… she didn't care what he thought about her at this point.

_I don't think I can ever forgive you for this_.

Aria shivered as she thought back to when she first said those words. She thought back to the look of pure shock and pain in her father's features, and then how he tried to compose himself as he reached out to Aria. She wouldn't let him, though. She had jerked her hand away and walked back to the chair, leaving him even more bewildered and upset. At the time, when he had walked out of her room, she felt a little sad for him, and thought she might've been too hard on him.

That was the old Aria. Timid, innocent, uncorrupted Aria who only saw the best in people. She was different now. She was more assertive, most _certainly _corrupted, and all of her innocence was gone. She had no remorse. She knew that he deserved it.

And she was right. Because she _still_ hadn't forgiven him.

* * *

Spencer sat at her kitchen counter with her leg propped up on one of the chairs and her homework in her lap. Her parents were not home, per usual, and Melissa was visiting a friend in Philly for the day, so it was Spencer all alone in her big house with her big swollen ankle. She didn't let it get to her; she had managed a Lean Cuisine from the freezer with a glass of lemonade, so she was fine food-wise, and she could probably finish all of the work she had to make up from the time she was at Radley, along with all of the times she skipped class, a lot faster without either of her family members hovering over her.

As soon as she was starting to get comfortable with the peace and quiet, she heard a knock on kitchen door. "It's open!" she hollered.

She heard the door open and then close, and when she looked up from her English book she saw the last face she was expecting to see.

"Jason?"

Jason stepped into the light, wearing dark washed jeans, a salmon V-neck, and narrowed eyes. He looked up at Spencer. "I heard about the fire."

Spencer just sighed and closed her book. "Who hasn't?" she said in a voice that dripped sarcasm. "But then again, it's not like this town has anything better to do besides gawk at a fire that was set off at a _mental institution_. You'd think we'd be used to this kind of stuff by now."

Jason just stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "some crazy shit happens in Rosewood, and yet each event always seems to top itself. What happened last night was pretty insane."

Spencer gave him a confused look. "How much do you know about what happened?"

"Enough," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "For starters… I know that you all saw my sister in it."

Spencer froze. How could Jason _possibly_ have known that? Fortunately, he answered this question next: "Emily told me."

Spencer puffed out her cheeks. Of _course_ Emily would ask Jason that. As much as she loved her, Emily was the kind of girl that, if you kicked her under the table to tell her to stop talking, she'd look up at you questioningly and exclaim, loudly of course, _Why did you just kick me?!_

"She wanted to know if I knew anything about it," Jason continued, "if I knew whether she was alive or not to begin with. But honestly, I'm just as in the dark as you are."

Spencer surveyed Jason cautiously, trying to think in her mind how she was going to execute her next phrase. It was going to be hard, but Jason needed to know.

After a moment of working up her courage, Spencer took a breath and began. "I don't think that really matters now, Jason. Ali died in that fire."

He didn't look defeated the way she thought he would. Instead, he merely looked… defensive?

"That's what I came here to tell you," he explained, "because there's something else."

Spencer stared into his brooding green eyes, wondering what information he could _possibly_ hold that could be any more shocking than everything that has been happening these past few days.

He took another step forward and placed his hands on the kitchen counter while leaning forward secretively. "As soon as Emily told me, it occurred to me that she could've died in the fire. I called the fire department and demand they search for her body. I wanted proof that she was dead."

"And?"

Jason sighed, and lowered his head so that he was facing the granite. "They searched everywhere, but they couldn't find her body- _any_ body. None of the patients had died in the fire since the staff managed to easily evacuate everyone. But most importantly... hers wasn't in any of the debris."

Spencer widened her eyes. "But that's not possible!" she exclaimed. "Did they ever think that her body could've disintegrated with the fire?"

"It doesn't work like that, Spencer," Jason said softly, "it takes a long time for a body to shrivel up in the way that you're thinking."

"But I knocked her out with a flashlight!" Spencer said bluntly, and then, at the sight of Jason's bewildered expression, quickly added, "In self defense!"

"Maybe you didn't hit her hard enou-"

"-she was _unconscious_," Spencer shouted, "I saw the _blood spill out of her head_!" Jason winced at this, but Spencer simply continued. "They may have evacuated all of the patients, but they did _not_ evacuate her. She didn't escape.There's no way she could've…."

Jason just gave her a pitiful look, and Spencer finally let out an indignant huff. She could deny the possibility all she wanted, but it would result in no avail.

Somehow, some_where_, Ali was still alive, and probably still after all of them.

* * *

**One more thing: everyone get your asses on youtube right now and search up that stairwell scene with Aria and Ezra from last night. Then watch the stairwell scene from the pilot. Then repeat this process about 20 times, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, your heart will be in the same place as mine is at this moment in time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Kinda more of a fluffy chapter, but it does lead to something big, so keep your eyes open. Send me reviews with your opinions as always! I read every single one of them, and fall in love every single time. You guys are legit the best.**

* * *

"_WHAT?!_" Aria screamed. "No. That's impossible. She's not still out there. I thought we got rid of her!"

"So did I, but apparently not!" Spencer exclaimed, exasperated. After Jason broke the news to Spencer, she was at a loss for words. Jason was caring enough to ask if there was anything he could do for her, and Spencer asked if he could drive her to Ella's apartment where Aria was staying. He complied, but dropped her off on the street, as he was still afraid of making any sort of contact with the girl he still had some feelings for. Now Spencer was sitting anxiously next to Aria on her bed, although she wished more than ever that her ankle would heal so she could pace around the room to calm her nerves.

Aria slowly positioned herself so that she was sitting up against her pillow. "What does it mean, Spence," she asked, looking up into Spencer's kind brown eyes. "Is she back to take care of unfinished business? Is this not over in the way we thought it was?"

Spencer sighed. "I never really believed it was over," she confessed. "It all seemed too easy. If she were dead, there'd still be the other A-team members to finish what she started."

"But she was the one in charge," Aria pointed out. "If she died, they wouldn't have anyone calling the shots. The team would've crumbled."

At this, Spencer just raised her eyebrows. "You really think _Mona_ would've let the A-team _crumble_?" she asked testily.

Aria just collapsed back onto her pillow. Spencer, out of anyone, knew what Mona was capable of. She had pushed Spencer to the point that she had just snapped and no longer wanted to be a victim. She had no fear, and Aria had gotten a taste of this when she had threatened Mona in the girls' bathroom while Spencer was still in Radley; Mona had simply shrugged her shoulders and gave Aria a look that was so smug and so awful that Aria wanted to smack her. She could only imagine what Spencer had to endure all during that time. And Aria wished more than ever that Spencer had told her about Toby being A and Mona whacking her like a piñata as soon as possible so that Aria could be there to comfort her through all of it.

As these thoughts were going through Aria's head, Spencer took a good look at Aria. It had only been a day, but Aria looked just as bad as she did yesterday, with burns and scratches still littering her body. Spencer used her arms to push herself further up on the bed. "How are you feeling today? Any better?"

Aria just closed her eyes as she rolled her head to the other side of her pillow. "A little, but I think it's just because of the meds. My back is still killing me."

Spencer could only nod her head. Back at the fire, it had taken everything in her not to wince every time Alison had slammed Aria's little body against the wall. It sounded _so_ painful, and Aria's helpless yelps of agony only made Spencer feel worse that she couldn't get up and save her. Looking back, Spencer realized she could've saved Aria so much suffering if she had gotten off the ground sooner, but Ali's confession just kept going and Spencer _needed_ some answers.

And yet, as hard as it was for Spencer to admit, since she _hated_ not knowing things, she would rather go back to having her questions unanswered now that she knew the truth. She had put Aria's safety at risk, and Spencer had never seen Aria look as overwhelmed and confused as she did now, since she knew the wretched truth.

Aria noticed Spencer surveying her, and just offered a weak smile. "Relax, okay? I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you. You can't even _walk_!"

"Well that's what the crutches are for!" Spencer jokingly protested, causing her and Aria to giggle slightly. It felt good to still joke about stuff, even though the walls in Spencer's brain were still slowly collapsing on top of each other.

The giggles soon stopped, however, and they were back to their forlorn situation at hand. "What do we do now?" Aria asked, more to herself than Spencer. "Should we tell someone?"

Spencer leaned back on her elbows on the bed. "Honestly," she began, "I ask myself that question every day. But every time we try to tell someone about this, it…"

"… comes back to bite us in the ass," Aria finished, averting her eyes to the wall.

"Yeah," Spencer said while slumping her shoulders with so much force that a few of her sleek brunette locks fell into her face. She simply blew them away fiercely as she looked toward the door. "Aren't you afraid your mom is going to hear us?"

"Nah, she doesn't wanna listen in on our conversations. She's probably on the phone with her _barista_ right now," Aria explained with an eye roll.

"If you're implying that your mother isn't paying attention to you, then allow me to point out the various number of times today that she pestered me to pester _you_ into eating the omelet she made you almost 2 hours ago, which you still haven't touched! Have you even eaten anything since yesterday?"

Aria just glanced over at the unmoved vegetarian omelet lying on her bedside table, avoiding the question. She had been excited about it earlier, but 10 minutes alone in her room while her mother prepared her omelet was enough time for all of the lies and secrets in her brain to go into war with each other to the point that it made her nauseous. She was starving, yes, but anything she could keep down she was sure would just come right back up. Even so, she appreciated her mom cooking it, so she didn't want to throw it away, so it had just been sitting on her bedside table for the remainder of the afternoon.

But Aria was more focused on the other half of Spencer's sentence.

"I never said that at all," Aria said defensively. "I love my mom, you know that! And I love Zach, too, I think he's great! I'm so happy for her. It's great that she's been able to move on after the divorce…" After mentioning this, Aria immediately wished she hadn't. If there was anything she hated more than anything in the world, besides the A-team, it was her family not being what they used to be. Spencer was still looking at Aria expectantly, so she continued. "I'm just bitter that I have to leave her out of all of this."

"No, I get it," Spencer said apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way." And that was the whole truth. Spencer knew how close Aria was with her mother, and she had only implied that Aria was unaware of this because she was truly jealous of Aria's parents. Well, at least of her mom. Whenever she had a conversation with Mrs. Montgomery, Spencer always found herself thinking about how much Aria took after her. They were both so caring, yet so stubborn, and they both could have you answering their every wish and plea with just the enlarging of their eyes. Most importantly, every time Spencer was in a room with the two of them together she could clearly see the love they had for each other in their eyes. Spencer knew Ella would do anything to make Aria happy, and all Spencer wanted was someone to care about her in the same way. And she knew _her_ parents certainly never would.

Spencer tried to put these thoughts aside as she placed her hand on Aria's knee that was concealed by the covers. "If you really want to," she began, "you should tell her. If it'll help you feel better."

Aria just stared at Spencer like she had grown wings. "What happened to what we JUST talked about, though? What if A does something?"

Spencer just gave Aria's knee a comforting rub. "You don't have to bring A up. Just tell her about what Ali told you, and see if she has any opinion on it. If anything, I think she would-" But then Spencer stopped herself. She was about to say, _If anything, I think she would want some kind of closure on the issue_, with _she_ being _Ali_. But just the mere mention or implication of Ali's name made Spencer sick, so she tried to avoid it as much as possible. Also, she wasn't entirely sure it was true; if there was anything Alison loved, it was having power, and that meant denying anything that made her look weak.

But she didn't tell Aria this; Aria _needed_ to talk to her mom. It was probably the only way she could recover from everything that happened.

Spencer swallowed and continued. "I really think you should tell her. Just spin up a lie about how you found out. You've always been really good at that," she added with a wink.

Aria giggled at that last remark. "Well," she started, "I guess I could tell her that we found it in her diary. That's what I told my dad when…" Now it was Aria's turn to stop herself. The mere mention of her dad made her stomach churn. She shook her head, trying to erase the thought of him. "I'll… I'll tell her."

"Good," Spencer said with relief. She then released the weight she was putting on her elbows so that she was lying fully on her back as she stared up at the ceiling. The room hadn't been painted yet, so the ceiling and walls looked completely plain and blank.

_If only I could get the inside of my mind to be like this_, Spencer thought darkly. Aria noticed Spencer's despondent state, so she questioned it. "Is everything okay, Spence? You haven't been sharing a lot of how you've been doing lately."

"That's because I truly have no idea," Spencer scoffed.

Aria chewed the inside of her cheek, pondering over this. She thought of how broken Spencer had looked when she saw her in Radley, and how dead. But when Spencer came out of there, she looked fresh and new, which was scary and confusing at the time, but even more scary and confusing when Aria found out that Spencer was on the A-team. Looking back, Spencer had gone through way more emotional turmoil than any 17-year-old should, and it broke Aria's heart. It was almost as though she had no one to turn to now; she couldn't turn to her boyfriend because he was the cause of the turmoil, she couldn't turn to her parents because the only thing they cared about it regards to her was her GPA, and she _definitely_ couldn't turn to her sister because, quite frankly, Melissa was a bitch!

Aria wanted more than anything for Spencer to know just how much she cared about her, and that even though her family would never be there for her in the way that she wanted them to, she still had Aria.

"Hey Spence?"

Not bothering to sit up, Spencer turned her head just enough to the side so that she was facing Aria.

"You shouldn't be staying at home by yourself," Aria said worriedly. "You could really hurt your ankle if you put too much strain on it."

"Aria, relax," Spencer whined, facing the ceiling again. "My parents aren't out of town or anything, they're just working."

"Still," Aria persisted, "it's a pretty big house for you to have to navigate through… wouldn't you be more comfortable staying here?"

At this, Spencer's ears perked. She sat upright and faced Aria. "I can't ask you to do that. It's your mom's new apartment!"

"My mom loves you, Spence," Aria said easily, "and she knows you've been… out of it lately." Which was true. Ella was always telling Aria how she had seen how depressed Spencer had been at school, and how it was worrying her. If Aria were to ask if Spencer could stay a couple nights, she was certain her mom would comply.

Spencer still looked uncertain. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'll just ask her later! And you don't even need to go back to your house to get anything, just borrow some of my stuff. You shouldn't be walking back and forth between houses, anyway."

Spencer's entire face lit up for what seemed to be the first time in weeks. She got on her knees on the bed, reached over, and enveloped Aria into a hug. She didn't realize that she was nearly crushing Aria's crippled spine, or that Aria had to bite her tongue until it bled to keep herself from screaming, but she decided to forgive it for now.

Spencer finally let go, allowing Aria to release the breath she'd been holding. She looked at Aria admiringly with her hands still on her shoulders. "You're the best, you know that right?"

"Nah," Aria said, brushing this off. "It'll be good for me, too. I could use someone here when I tell my mom about… that."

Spencer intertwined Aria's hands with her own. "I'll be here. I promise. Whatever you need, seriously! After what you're doing for me?"

Aria just giggled, but then tried to suppress a yawn. It didn't go unnoticed by Spencer.

"Aria-"

"-I'm fine," she protested. "I'll just sleep later."

"You're not fine, you're exhausted," Spencer demanded. "You've barely kept your eyes open this entire time! Just go to sleep. I'll just find something else to do." She then added mischievously, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty fantastic at occupying myself."

Aria laughed, but that just turned into another yawn that made her eyes droop even more. She let out a sigh in defeat. "Fine," she muttered, "there are books on that shelf over there… if you want…"

And with that she was out.

Spencer had to laugh at this. Of _course_ Aria would have put in a bookshelf specifically for her reading pleasure in her mom's apartment. Spencer grabbed her crutches and started to get up to pick out a book, but not before looking over at Aria's sleeping face. She looked so peaceful, so at ease. Spencer would give anything to have her look like this while awake; she just wanted to see Aria back to her happy, bubbly self again.

She scooted over to Aria and caressed her cheek.

"You'll get there, sweet girl," Spencer whispered. "I promise. We'll get there together. I'll end this for you."

With that, she lightly kissed Aria on the forehead, picked up her crutches, and hobbled over to the bookshelf.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: HEY GUYS! Sorry I'm a couple days late, but I had work yesterday and this morning, so I've been pretty busy. BUT, I'm on spring break now, so I should hopefully be able to write a lot more. For those of you requesting for Hanna and Emily, here ya go! And expect a confrontation from them with Spencer VERY soon!**

* * *

"Emily, you shouldn't believe everything Jason says," Hanna said persistently into the phone. She was lounging on her bed, a _Teen Vogue_ magazine on her lap, while Emily was having a full-blown panic attack on the other end.

"And why the hell not?!" Emily shouted.

"Because he's _sketchy_. You guys found creepy pictures of Aria in his shed last year! I just don't trust him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was a part of all this."

"That's ridiculous. He's looking for answers just as much as we are!"

"But we've already GOT answers!" Hanna shouted back. Even though everyone seemed to think Alison was alive, Hanna didn't want to believe it. She just wanted her dead and gone in that fire so the whole thing could be over with.

"Hanna," Emily begged, "you're not getting it. There was nothing in all that char and rubble from the fire. _Nothing_."

"Has anyone ever thought that maybe she had _disintegrated_ by then?"

Emily at first was taken aback that Hanna even _knew_ the word _disintegrated_, but soon got back on track. "Even so, they would've at least found something. A skeleton. Or her bones... Or a... lock of her h-hair." Emily struggled out the last sentence as a tear rolled down her cheek. She could still picture Alison's long blonde hair flowing down her back, curling beautifully at the ends. It was perfect, in the same way that Alison was perfect.

After Emily said this, Hanna suddenly softened. She knew what this was about. "Em, is this just about you missing Alison? Is that why you want her back?"

There was silence on the other end, as Emily didn't know how to respond, so Hanna kept going. "Emily, I'm sorry. I really don't want to be the one to tell you this, but… the Alison that we saw in that fire is not the Alison that we knew. _Or_ the Alison that you loved. It just isn't who she is, or ever was. The real Alison is evil, and is the reason all of our lives have been hell for the past two years. Are you forgetting that she put steroids in your muscle cream?"

"We don't know that that was her," Emily said sensitively, "it could've been Mona, or someone else. After all, it was Mona who ran you over with a car!"

"First of all, she ran _under_ me. I went _over_ the car. Second of all, Ali was still probably the one to direct her to do that. She's Red Coat, and weren't you the one to first point out that Red Coat was the one in charge? Also, we never even got complete confirmation that that was Mona."

"Did we ever really need it?" Emily asked exasperatedly.

"Of course we needed it! We _still_ need it! We need as much information as possible now, because _none of this makes sense_! Like, how did she get Mona and Toby to join the team? What did _they_ have against us?"

Emily just sighed and looked out of the window as she curled herself further into her window seat. "Was it ever even really about us? Wasn't this whole thing supposed to be about getting revenge on Aria?"

Hanna leaned back, defeated. "I don't even know anymore. Ali could've been lying when she said that, but that seems to be the only reasonable explanation for why she would hold off on torturing Aria for so long."

Emily sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, I think so, too."

"Yeah," Hanna said softly. "Speaking of Aria, have you heard from her at all?"

"Not her specifically," Emily said, "but Jason told me she's staying at her mother's apartment."

"That makes sense," Hanna sighed sadly, "she probably doesn't wanna be anywhere near her dad after hearing that."

"Yeah, can't say I blame her."

There was a long pause between the two girls, until Hanna suddenly shot up from her relaxed position. "_Wait_! How could Jason have _possibly_ known that about Aria? I'm pretty sure those two aren't on well enough terms to be telling each other about their whereabouts."

Emily chewed on the inside of her cheek, knowing Hanna wasn't going to like what she had to say next. "Well… he kinda… drove Spencer over there to see her. He said it seemed like she might be staying there for a few days."

"_WHAT?!_" Hanna's eyes were bulging out of her head now. "Why wouldn't you tell me this sooner?!"

"Because I knew you wouldn't take it well!"

"Well you're right about that," Hanna mumbled angrily, "I don't want that bitch anywhere _near_ Aria, or any of us!"

"I highly doubt Aria will listen to you," Emily pointed out. "You know how stubborn that girl is!"

"Well, she better unstubborn herself real quick unless she wants to get _killed_."

"Hanna, do you _really_ think Spencer would hurt her?"

Hanna thought about this, but still came to the same conclusion. "She's on the A-team, Em. I don't know how long it was going on for, but she went against us."

"A-team or not, I really think Spencer has always genuinely loved Aria. You can't just pretend to care about someone like that."

"Says WHO?! Mona did it to me, and Toby did it to you!"

Emily winced at this, and Hanna could almost feel it on the other line, so she corrected herself. "I'm sorry, Em, but I don't know what else to tell you. Spencer is dangerous."

"Well, I'm not ready to believe that she would hurt any of us just yet."

"How?! She kidnapped a 7-year-old to break up Aria and Ezra! She clearly means business!"

Emily didn't know what she believed anymore. She wanted to believe that Spencer was on their side, but there were so many facts against her. "Look, I'm just as skittish about trusting her as you are, but at least one of us should give her the benefit of the doubt. Let that be Aria if she really wants to. After everything that happened, I don't blame her for needing someone to reach out to, even if that person is the enemy."

As Emily said this out loud, she thought back to last night, when she and Hanna had found a comatose Aria in the lap of Spencer, who was beside herself with grief and choking on her own sobs. When everything Spencer was saying finally processed in Emily's mind, her heart broke for Aria. Sure, she was heartbroken for herself, too, about learning that Alison wasn't who she thought she was, as much as she wanted to deny it. But she couldn't help but think back to the day of the marathon, when they had gotten a hold of Alison's diary. The devastated look on Aria's face when she had finally finished reading the journal entry was still clear in Emily's head. Aria had been in denial about what Garrett said about her dad the entire day, and the truth that Alison had been blackmailing him behind Aria's back had hit her in the face. Hard. Now, she had to deal with not just that, but also having to learn that her father had _raped_ Alison? And that Alison blamed _Aria_ for all of this happening? It was too much.

Emily could hear Hanna collapsing back down onto her pillow on the other end. "I guess you're right," she said, "but I'm still worried."

"If you're so worried, why don't you just talk to Spencer yourself?"

"Because the last time I told off an A-team member I got a faceless mannequin thrown at my me," Hanna said bluntly.

Emily pondered over this for a second. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Maybe that can be your test. If you talk to her and end up getting hurt, we'll know we can't trust her for sure. But if not, then she's on our side!"

"Is that a risk I'm supposed to be willing to take?" Hanna shrieked, afraid all of a sudden.

Emily just rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it, she's not going to do anything." But really, Emily was just trying to put on a brave face for Hanna… or a brave voice at least, since Hanna couldn't see her face through the phone.

"Em, I-"

"-please, Hanna?" Emily pleaded. She needed Hanna to comply. She needed affirmation that no one else close to her had betrayed her. "_Please_."

Hanna opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn't find it in her to. She had seen Emily crumble these past few days after learning about Alison, and she hated it. She wanted this to be over, if not for herself, then for Emily. "Okay, I'll go talk to her tomorrow. Hopefully by then this whole thing can be over."

"It can't if Red Coat is still out there calling the shots," Emily muttered.

"But she's not, okay? Ali is dead. The sooner you get it into your head the better. And stop talking to Jason! Before you know it you're going to start glowering at everything in sight just like him!"

And with that Hanna hung up. She thought of the A-team collectively. Ali. Toby. Mona. Spencer. If Hanna was right, then there was no more Ali to call the shots. But did that necessarily mean that someone wasn't pulling the trigger?

_Just because I don't believe_ it, Hanna thought to herself,_ that doesn't mean no one else can._ _At least one of us has to have hope. And since Aria has basically lost all of it, it might as well be Emily_.

And with that, Hanna turned the page of her magazine, slipped her headphones in, and drowned out the horrible world in front of her.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: No reviews last chapter... have I lost you guys that quickly? PLEASE read and review, because I promise there's some really great stuff coming up with this story. In fact, this might just be my favorite chapter so far :) lemme know what you think! Review, follow, favorite, do whatever you need to do to let me know if you like this story. AND tell me what you'd like to see in future chapters, and I'll do my best to incorporate it!**

* * *

Later that day, Aria had fully woken from her slumber, and now both she and Spencer were lounging on the bed reading. Spencer was nearly halfway through a biography on Stephen King, while Aria was reading _Little Women_ for the 9th time. She was just about to lick her finger to turn the page when suddenly a realization came to her, and her breath caught in her throat.

Spencer, upon hearing the gurgling noise escape Aria's mouth, looked up. "What's wrong?" she asked, and then added with a smirk, "or are you just at the part where Beth dies?"

Aria just shook her head as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I just realized… Ezra and I used to do this all the time."

Spencer froze up and slowly closed her book without breaking eye contact with Aria, who kept talking. "On Saturdays… it used to be our thing. He had _so many books_ and you could just pick whichever one you wanted off of the shelf. And we would sit on opposite sides of the couch and… just being able to look up from whatever I was reading and see his face in front of mine was enough to make me the happiest girl in the world."

Now Spencer could feel tears in her own throat. "Oh, Aria," she choked out as she leaned over on the bed with her arm extended, and Aria gladly snuggled into it as she silently cried. "It's all my fault. I'm the one who drove you to this decision. I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Aria whispered, "I don't want you to think that. It was going to happen sooner or later, and we both knew it. We're just not what we used to be, and…" She looked up at Spencer now, her hazel eyes shimmering. "I'd rather it be you who took Malcolm, because I know you wouldn't hurt him. If Mona had gotten a hold of that little boy-"

"-but she didn't," Spencer said tenderly in an attempt to calm Aria down, yet it seemed to be doing nothing to help.

"She would've," Aria trembled gloomily. "If I had stayed with Ezra, one of them was bound to get hurt. I couldn't take that risk."

"And you didn't," Spencer said, rubbing Aria's back soothingly while carefully navigating around her bruises, "and that was extremely brave of you. I don't think I ever told you how proud of you I am for that."

The tears just kept pouring faster down Aria's face, so Spencer took Aria by the shoulders and had her look her in the eyes. "Listen to me," she said delicately, "you both love and care for each other so much, and that's what should matter; you don't need to be together to realize that. You're keeping him safe, and right now you need to focus on your own safety." She used her thumb to wipe away a tear that was trickling down the line of Aria's cheekbone, and then lingered her thumb in the air right by Aria's face. "There may not be a happy ending for you two now, but be patient. If your love is true, which I _know_ it is, you'll get him back in the end."

Aria gave a wilted smile at Spencer's words of wisdom, and Spencer pulled her in for one last hug. At that moment, Ella walked into the room, and was slightly disoriented by the tears sliding down Aria's cheeks. Once Aria noticed her, she immediately disconnected from Spencer's embrace and quickly wiped her face clean.

"Beth just died," she lied, deciding to go with Spencer's story, and she held up the book as evidence. Ella made an "o" shape with her mouth and nodded her head deeply. But Aria knew her well enough to know that she didn't buy it at all.

"I was just going to order pizza for you girls for dinner, how does that sound?"

"Sounds great, Mrs. Montgomery," Spencer beamed.

Ella smiled at Spencer, and then looked pointedly at Aria. Not knowing how else to respond, Aria simply looked down to her hands, of which she was wringing nervously, a bad habit of hers. Her mother had finally removed the omelet from the dresser when it became clear Aria wasn't going to eat it, and Aria felt terrible because she knew her mother had made it just for her. But Ella was more concerned about Aria getting in even worse condition because she wasn't eating properly. Aria continued to nervously fidget under Ella's stare, only to receive an even harder stare that said, _Go ahead. Try me_.

Aria knew she had lost this battle, so she gave in. "Okay. Cheese works for me."

Ella flashed a victorious grin before walking out the door with her cellphone in hand. The door was still left open, but once Ella was out of sight, Spencer turned to Aria and mouthed, "Tell her."

"What?"

Spencer leaned forward to make herself more clear. "Tell. Her."

"About Ezra?" Aria asked, confused. "She already knows… I came to her apartment straight after breaking it off with him at the Rosewood Grill."

"No Aria," Spencer said impatiently. She knew Aria would try to find a way out of this. "You need to tell her now about your _dad_! You even said you would, so you can't back out now."

Aria's eyes grew even wider than usual. "I can't now!" Aria whispered fiercely. "She's on the phone ordering pizza!"

Spencer just rolled her eyes at Aria's excuse. "Then get off of your ass and wait for her to get _off_ of the phone, then tell her. You have 30 minutes, Aria, until the pizza comes. That's plenty of time. Take it or leave it."

Aria looked out the bedroom door into the main sitting room area, where her mom was still talking to the pizza guy. She allowed herself a huge gulp before going, "Okay. I'll tell her." She then started to unravel herself from the covers.

This got Spencer's attention. "Wait! I didn't say you needed to get out of bed!"

"What am I going to do? Ask you to leave the room?" Aria countered. "I know you want to be there for me, but I'd rather be alone while I tell her this. You can listen in if you want though."

Spencer supposed that made sense, but she was still worried. "Do you need any help standing up?" she asked seriously. Aria hadn't gotten out of bed in almost 24 hours, and while Spencer wanted her to tell her mother, she didn't want Aria hurting herself.

"No, I-I should be fine," Aria said as she stood herself up on shaky legs, but she knew it was mainly nerves. Once she was up, it was a lot easier to keep walking. She started out of the room, until she heard her name being called out. She turned around to find Spencer opening and closing her mouth like a fish, seemingly trying to find the right words to say. She finally decided, and somehow managed to come up with the exact words that Aria needed to keep moving.

"Just remember, I'm right in here. Nothing bad will happen, I promise you."

With the knowledge that Spencer had her back, Aria slowly spun back around and walked into the sitting room where her mom had hung up the phone and was just about to pick up a magazine, when she spotted Aria.

She almost skyrocketed out of her chair. "Sweetie, why are you out of bed?"

"I…" Aria began, but she couldn't seem to form the words out. She just stood there, in her yoga pants and ill-fitting long sleeved t-shirt, shaking from head to toe, calculating in her head how she was going to tell her mother some of the hardest news she'd ever have to endure hearing.

Ella reached out to her daughter immediately. "Aria, you need to sit down, you're looking a little pasty," she said as she led Aria to the couch. Aria cautiously took a seat, but her mother's eyes were still intently watching over her, making Aria feel trapped under her constant gaze. This was it. She needed to spit it out before she lost her nerve.

"Mom," she began, "there's something that I need to tell you, and I know you're not going to like it. But I'm sorry. You have every right to know."

Ella's mouth went agape. "Aria, you're starting to scare me," she said, as she tried to hold her daughter's limbs still to keep them from shaking so much.

Aria tried to hold herself steady, but it was too hard. It was all coming back to her. Alison screaming the truth into Aria's face. The panicked thoughts going through her mind as the flames got closer and closer to where she was standing. The malicious look in Alison's eyes as she held Aria down. It was too much.

But Aria knew she had to keep going, so she let out a shaky breath and began the story she had carefully planned over the past few hours. "The other night, the girls and I…. we found an old diary that belonged to Ali. It was in Emily's room, so she must've left it there by accident one day back then… and we decided to look in it."

Ella just stared at Aria, not entirely sure if she liked where this was headed.

Aria just gulped loudly, tears getting caught in the back of her throat, and continued. "There was this one entry, and it… it had s-something to do with Dad." And so Aria began to retell everything that Alison had told her the previous night, leaving out, of course, the details of Alison being alive and seeking revenge on Aria for this happening. But she remembered everything so vividly that she was able to describe it all in full detail to her mother. How Byron had given Ali weird glances at Hollis. How he had groped her in his office when she caught him flirting with Meredith. How she blackmailed him with the new information that he was seeing Meredith.

By the time she had gotten to how he had lost it and raped her, Aria was in full hysterics. Ella could feel her heart shatter at the sight of her daughter breaking down completely because of something the man she had once loved had done. And _Spencer_, who had limped over to the closed door to eavesdrop as soon as Aria had walked out, was using one hand to cover her mouth to try to stop herself from letting out a high-pitched wail, and the fingers on her other hand to dig deep into her palm to stop herself from running into the room and comforting Aria. Ella was doing the best she could at the moment; she had pulled Aria partially into her lap and was embracing her as she cried.

"Shhh, it's ok," she whispered while stroking Aria's hair, "you're ok."

Aria rapidly shook her head. "No, I'm n-not," she sobbed. "She was my friend! And he… he took advantage of her, and took advantage of _you_!" Aria buried her face into her mother's shoulder as Ella tried to quiet her muffled cries.

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

After a minute, Aria finally gathered enough strength to pull herself out of her mother's embrace and wipe the tears off of her cheeks. She took a minute to compose herself before taking a good look at her mother, who, for whatever reason, didn't look nearly as shocked or broken as she should have.

"Mom," Aria whispered suspiciously, "shouldn't you be the one breaking down after hearing this?"

Ella's eyes wandered around the room for a couple seconds before her shoulders slumped. She grabbed her daughter's hands in hers and said the last thing Aria expected her to say.

"I might've already known about it."

* * *

_May 2009_

_Ella was in the kitchen at the Montgomery house, fixing dinner for her family. She was just about to start chopping peppers for a salad when she heard the front door of the house open._

"_Back so soon?" she asked aloud, expecting it to be Aria, who had walked up to Rosewood Middle School to get Mike, who was at soccer practice._

_When no one answered, Ella looked up. Standing before her was Alison DiLaurentis, who was visibly shaking underneath her teal button-up and jean capris; they were both_ _ripped in various places_.

"_Alison?" Ella asked, confused, as she walked forward from behind the kitchen counter._

"_Mrs. M-Montgomery," Alison said in a quaking voice, "is Aria here?"_

"_No, she just left to go get Mike from soccer practice," Ella said as she continued to cautiously walk forward. Once she got close enough, she noticed a fresh bruise on Alison's arm, and then another one on her neck. In fact, she noticed bruises EVERYWHERE._

_Ella was shocked._

"_Alison, what happened to you? What's wrong?"_

_Alison just shook her head as a lone tear strolled down her cheek. "Please, Mrs. Montgomery, it's best that you don't know."_

"_No, it is far from the best. You're clearly hurt, and I can't do anything to help unless you tell me what happened."_

"_I don't NEED your help!" Alison snapped, causing Ella to take a step back in surprise. Alison just bowed her head as the tears continued to fall. "I'm sorry to bother you. I'll just come back when Aria is here."_

_"Alison, wait!"_

_Alison started to walk toward the door, but then turned back around, looking Ella in the eyes, coldly. "If you really wanted to help, you would do something about your husband."_

_Ella was taken aback by this, but managed to whisper, "What do you mean?"_

_There was an icy twinkle in Alison's eyes, one that Ella thought should never be present in the eyes of a 15-year-old. "I don't know. Maybe I'll have an answer for you once he's behind bars."_

"_What exactly are you suggesting?" Ella asked warningly._

"_It shouldn't be that hard to figure out, Mrs. Montgomery" Alison said with a shrug, "the answer is in black and white."_

"_I'd be careful of what you say to me," Ella growled, suddenly turning defensive. "Do you talk to your parents this way?"_

_Alison just rolled her eyes. She put her hand on the doorknob, and before walking out of the house she looked up at Ella one last time._

"_If I did, I know they'd listen to me."_

* * *

As soon as Ella finished telling the story, Aria was at a loss for words. She could only look down to her hands, which were still intertwined with her mothers, and breathe out, "Wow."

"Yeah," Ella sighed. She reached forward and touched her finger to Aria's chin to tilt her head up toward her. "At the time, I was shocked and bewildered and confused, but I eventually understood what she was implying. It took a couple of days, but I got it."

"Why did you keep this from me?" Aria whispered, bewildered.

"Oh, the irony. _You're_ upset at _me_ for keeping things to myself," Ella said sarcastically.

Aria went pale. "I… I thought you had forgiven me for that."

Ella suddenly softened at the regret and sorrow in her daughter's expression. "I'm sorry. Of _course_ I've forgiven you for that. I told you, I wish you had told me, but it wasn't your fault; your father shouldn't have made you keep it a secret."

Aria weakly nodded her head, and Ella continued. "To answer your question… I didn't just keep it from you. I didn't tell anyone! At first I was going to call the police because she looked _terrible_; I thought someone had _beaten_ her."

Aria flinched at this, because someone _had_ beaten her. But Ella kept going. "But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that she could just be pulling a stunt. I know she was your friend, but that girl loved to cause trouble. I thought that she was just trying to cause a rifle within our family so that she could laugh about it later. She was always good at manipulating people."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Aria murmured at a low enough volume that her mother couldn't hear her.

But there was more. "Ever since that day, I started paying closer attention to your father, too. He looked... _strange_. Almost _guilty_. I began to think that maybe what Alison said was true, but..."

"But what, mom?" Aria pleaded.

Ella looked up, with eyes filled to the brim with tears. It was freaking Aria out slightly. She hadn't seen her mother this upset since she first found out about the affair.

"But then," Ella continued, "Alison went missing. And before we knew it, we were in Iceland. And it was like everything fell back into place! Your father was happy, I was happy, you and Mike were happy, and I just completely forgot about Alison, or what your father did or didn't do. It sounds horrible, I know, but it just... slipped my mind."

Still in complete shock, Aria leaned back on the couch pillows, desperately trying to understand everything that her mother just told her.

Ella looked at her daughter sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, honey. I know this is a lot to take in, and you shouldn't have to deal with this right now."

Aria just shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek once more. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault that Dad could deceive us like this. He had us all fooled."

Ella nodded her head, and then opened her arm for Aria to come closer. Aria accepted her mother's offer and leaned into her mother's strong hold as Ella gently rubbed her back and kissed her hair. But not too long after, she stopped.

"Aria," Ella began, "I'm sorry, but I need to know something."

Aria slowly sat up and faced her mother, confused. "Oh. Okay, sure. Whatever you need."

Ella took a deep breath, and then asked her question. "When you had Alison's diary, did you look at any of her other entries?"

Aria narrowed her eyes, not entirely sure about what her mother was getting at. "I… I don't know what you mean."

Ella stared at the ceiling, not entirely sure how to word her thoughts without sounding offensive, but none seemed to work. She averted her eyes away from the ceiling and back at Aria's face. "Did it mention whether she got the abortion or not?"

Aria froze, a chill rippling up her bruised spine. Ella took this as greater confusion, so she continued. "Like, was she able to get it before she… died? Or did she not have enough money for it? I only ask because it'd be terrible if she had been murdered while _pregnant_."

Aria suddenly felt nauseous, and her vision suddenly clouded with black spots.

_No._

She then abruptly shot up from her spot on the couch and ran toward the bathroom. On any other occasion, she would've sat right back down as pain spread throughout her entire back, but she was immune to all of it at the moment. Ella cried out in shock as Aria darted off, and Spencer threw open the door to the bedroom and started to chase after Aria. As soon as she started running, she let out a cry; she had just put an immense amount of weight on her ankle, and it felt as though it was going to shatter on the spot. She held back tears as she limped over to the bathroom, where Aria was violently throwing up.

When Spencer got to where Aria was sitting, she held Aria's hair back and tried her best to comfort her. Since Aria hadn't eaten anything, all that came out was an acidy bile, but she wouldn't stop. As soon as she finished, she leaned over, breathing heavily and unevenly as tears streamed down her face, which was now a mix of sheet-white and sickly green. Spencer grabbed some tissues from the counter to wipe Aria's mouth clean, and Ella came running to the door.

"What's going on? Are you okay? What happened?"

The questions came spewing out of her, as she grew more and more confused the longer she looked at her daughter's grief-stricken face. Spencer turned around to look at Ella, with sadness and determination swimming in her eyes.

"Mrs. Montgomery," she said softly, "if you don't mind, I'll take it from here."

Ella was about to protest, but Spencer was looking at her in a way that said, _She needs me right now. Please, let me handle it._

Ella then nodded her head and walked out, with the assumption in her mind that Spencer truly knew what she was doing. Spencer then turned back to Aria, who breathing faster than a panting dog after a run. "Aria, stop," Spencer said firmly, "just breathe. Ok? Breathe. _Slowly_. You're going to make yourself sick again if you don't breathe."

It took a minute, but Aria finally caught her breath. She looked up at Spencer, her doe eyes wide with the knowledge of something terrible. Spencer placed her hands on Aria's shoulders and forced her to look up.

"Aria," she said calmly, "I need you to stay with me. What's wrong?"

Aria avoided Spencer's harsh gaze. "How did I not see it before? How could it have just slipped from my mind?"

"How could _what_ have slipped from your mind?!" Spencer exclaimed impatiently. "What are you TALKING about?!"

Aria closed her eyes as more tears escaped them. "When Alison started to blackmail my dad, it was just for fun. But after the… _incident_, she actually needed the money. To get an _abortion_."

Spencer still wasn't following, so Aria continued, trying to make herself as clear as possible. "He never paid it again, so she said she had to _run away_ so that she could _raise a child_."

Spencer's eyes widened, but she needed more clarification. "What are you saying?"

Aria looked to the wall, feeling the most hopeless and scared that she had these 2 days. Finally, in the quietest voice she could manage, she said the one terrible thing on her mind.

"Alison is still out there, raising a child of her own. Her child, and my _dad's_ child."

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**Well? Are you guys still there? Tell me what you think, I look forward to hearing what you have to say!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Another chapter for you guys! Thank you for the positive responses, and I wanted to clarify something: in this story, Aria and Ezra broke up when she called it off in 3x24 when they were at dinner after she found Malcolm. I just realized that that might not have been entirely clear, so there ya go.**

**Annnddddd... here is the confrontation that you all have been waiting for. Hopefully it meets your expectations, and if not, there should be another confrontation in the future chapters that is even BETTER! So patience.**

**Don't forget to send me a review with your thoughts!**

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"Emily, I swear to God if you keep pestering me I'm just going to back out now," Hanna said firmly while on her cell phone with Emily.

It was a few days later, and Hanna had been putting off talking to Spencer ever since Emily had brought up the idea. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, a part of her was _scared_ of Spencer. She knew Spencer was smart, but she never thought too much about it back when she thought Spencer was on their _side_. Now that she was against them, it was a completely different story.

"I'm sorry," Emily said on the other end, "I just need answers, Hanna. I need peace of mind."

"Well, calm down," Hanna reassured, "because you _will_ get them. I'm walking up the stairs to the apartment as we speak."

"Ok, good," Emily breathed in relief. "Tell me how it goes after, okay?"

"I will. Promise."

And with that, Hanna hung up. She was standing in front of Mrs. Montgomery's apartment, and she didn't know what to do next. Part of her wished she had just stayed on the phone with Emily the whole time. However, she _knew_ she couldn't ask Emily to hold her hand through the phone while she talked to Spencer.

She knocked curtly on the door several times, and was met with a smiling Mrs. Montgomery at the door. "Hanna," she said, surprise eminent in her voice, "I didn't know you were coming over! The girls never mentioned it."

"Oh, I didn't tell them," Hanna said quickly, "I just wanted to drop by as a surprise to see how they were doing. May I come in?"

"Uhh… sure. I think Aria's asleep, though."

"That's okay! I can just talk to Spencer, then."

_Perfect_.

Ella led Hanna into the apartment, and Hanna made her way over to the bedroom. She opened the door without knocking, only to find Aria sound asleep under the covers and Spencer watching over her.

Spencer looked up at the sound of the door swinging open, and went pale in an instant. "Hanna."

"Hey, _Spence_," Hanna said harshly as she closed the door behind her. Spencer immediately stood up from the bed. Her brown hair was in a messy braid, and she was wearing a pastel v-neck and a pair of pajama pants. She wasn't sure about the v-neck, but it was obvious that the pajama pants belonged to Aria by the way they stopped well above Spencer's ankles. Once she was standing fully upright, Spencer grabbed her crutches and made her way over to Hanna.

"Hanna, please," she pleaded, "not now. You'll wake her. She's barely gotten any sleep for days!"

And it was completely true. After figuring out that Alison had a child, one that her father had conceived, Aria had reached her breaking point. She didn't know what that made her. Did that make the child her _half-sibling_? Did she now have some sort of physical affiliation to Alison? It made her sick just thinking about it; not just the disturbing details, but knowing that Alison had to do this all on her own. She had to go through so much trouble just to escape it all. Ali, the most perfect human being on the planet that everyone looked up to, was a _victim_. The tables had all turned in a terrible way, and it was frightening. Every time Aria managed to fall asleep, she would wake up screaming from a nightmare about her dad or Alison or A. She wouldn't eat anything, and her cheeks were noticeably getting hollower. All she would do was stare blankly at the wall of her bedroom, questioning out loud multiple times how everything had gone so horribly wrong.

"Fine, then I'll _whisper_," Hanna hissed, "it's not that hard. Besides, you may have fooled Aria into thinking that you actually cared about us, but you haven't fooled me."

"I don't know what else you want from me!" Spencer whispered helplessly. "I told you guys who Red Coat was, I tried to help you all escape the fire-"

"And then Ali appeared _as_ Red Coat 2 seconds later, and you _didn't_ do anything to help us out of the fire? Coincidence?" Hanna retorted.

"I'm on your side. I always have been, I promise you!" Spencer said desperately. "You have to believe me!"

"Well I don't," Hanna said softly, looking to the ground. When she looked up again, Spencer saw, to her horror, the same fear in her eyes that she saw in Aria's eyes back at the hospital.

_No. Not again_, she thought to herself, _I can't have someone else being afraid of me_.

She let out a shaky breath before looking Hanna in her fear-filled crystal blue eyes. "Please, don't be afraid of me," she croaked, "everything I did was to protect you guys, and I know I went against you to do that, but you have to know that I'm still the same Spencer that I've always been."

Hanna crossed her arms unsurely. "I want to believe that," she said honestly, but Spencer could tell that she still didn't. She swallowed audibly, and then grabbed Hanna's hands.

"What can I do to prove it to you? Just tell me, and I'll do it!"

All of a sudden, it was too much for Hanna. When she saw Spencer, she saw Mona, in her bedroom in the middle of the night, grabbing Hanna's hands in the same way that Spencer was grabbing them, claiming she had changed for the better.

What a load of crap that was.

"Don't _touch_ me!" Hanna shouted as she sharply retracted her hand. Spencer's eyes widened at the force of Hanna's reaction, but Hanna ignored this. "I don't care what you say. You can't change everything that has happened to me these past 2 years, and you can't expect me to forgive you so easily for betraying us like this! If you cared about any of us at all, you would pack up your things and leave Aria alone. You would leave _all_ of us alone!"

"I'm not leaving Aria, she _needs_ me!" Spencer snarled. Her plan was to remain serene throughout this conversation so that Hanna could still see a friend in her, but she now knew that Hanna wasn't going to trust her, so she had to fight back.

"No, she just _thinks_ she needs you because she doesn't get that you're the enemy!" Hanna snarled back.

"Because I'm NOT the enemy!" Spencer cried. "I never HAVE been!"

Every time Spencer declared this, Hanna felt herself getting closer and closer to trusting her friend again, but she still wasn't fully there. She had to remember that she was on a mission. And _God_ she hoped she could succeed.

She took an affirmative step toward Spencer until she was right up in her face.

"Stay away from her. Got it? If you so much as lay one finger on her, if you hurt her in _any way_, I _will_ make sure that you pay for it."

"You know I would never hurt Aria," Spencer said coolly, as Hanna's face was still directly in front of hers, "and you know I would never hurt any of you."

"I thought I did," Hanna said while looking Spencer in the eyes with disgust, "and look at what happened."

Spencer could feel her legs wobbling while she was under Hanna's intense gaze, so she leaned further onto her crutches for support. As forward and assertive as Hanna was, Spencer knew that deep down she had a heart of gold. However, none of that was eminent at the moment as Hanna continued to stare Spencer down with as much hate as she could muster.

Spencer simply gulped. "Stay mad at me all you want, but I'm not going home. There's no way I'm leaving Aria's side. She was kind enough to take me in when no one in my family bothered to even _look_ at me, and now it's my turn to return the favor."

"You won't be doing anyone _any_ favors if you hurt her."

"But I'm not going to! I don't know how else I can prove to you that I'm on your side here!"

"That's just the thing," Hanna proclaimed finally as she glared at Spencer. "You can't prove it. I said it once, and I'll say it again. I don't want to _see_ you, I don't want to _hear_ from you, and _I don't want to know you_."

Spencer could feel the goose bumps crawling up her arms at the irony of the situation. The last time Hanna had said those exact words, they were to _Mona_ in Spencer's defense. And now they were being said _to_ Spencer as an _offense_.

Before Spencer could say anything, Hanna was out the door. Spencer could feel the tears prickling in her eyes as she pivoted on her crutches to walk toward the bed.

Once she turned around, however, she was met with the sight of Aria, who was no longer asleep and was staring up at Spencer with eyes that were wide open and unblinking.

Spencer stared at Aria, not sure what her next move should be. "Did… did you hear all that?"

"No," Aria said quietly, "just the part after she started shouting. It kinda woke me up…"

Spencer bowed her head as she made her way over to the bed. "I'm sorry. I told her not to shout."

"Don't worry about it," Aria said emotionlessly, "I just can't believe she would say that to you."

"Well, I deserve it don't I?" Spencer whispered as more tears trickled down her face. Aria propped herself up on one elbow so that she could hug Spencer from the side and rub her arm comfortingly.

"It's not your fault," Aria said compassionately, "and I guess I can't really say that it's Hanna's fault, either. She's probably just over trusting people after what happened with her and Mona. But she'll get over it, I know she will."

Spencer nodded her head, but then sniffled loudly as she looked at Aria. "You… you trust me, don't you?"

Aria slowly looked to Spencer, her light eyes darker and duller than they usually were. "I do. How could I not, when you saved my life?"

Spencer scoffed playfully. "Gee, how about saying that like you mean it."

Unfortunately, this did not earn a laugh from Aria. She just sighed and leaned back down on her pillow. "Sorry, I just don't really see a purpose in reiterating on things anymore. If I trust you, then I trust you. Why not just have it at that?"

Seeing Aria dissolve like this was breaking Spencer's heart. She rubbed Aria's arm soothingly. "Hey, I was kidding, alright? You're fine, I promise."

Aria just nodded her head against her pillow, and then suddenly rolled over so that she was on her back and faced Spencer. "I've been thinking, and I really think I should talk to my dad about this. I want to tell him everything."

Spencer's eyes enlarged. "Are you _sure_?!"

Aria sighed with finality. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Everything?"

"_Everything_," Aria confirmed with a definitive tone.

Spencer leaned back against the bed post to think about this for a moment. "But… what about A?"

"We haven't seen or _heard_ from A in almost a week. I know we said Alison was alive and probably still running things, but…" Aria bowed her head and continued. "What if she just gave up? What if that fire was the last straw for her, and it was her knowing that she just couldn't get her revenge, so she just took me having _knowledge_ of all of this as her revenge? And now she can finally stop focusing on _stalking_ and focus more on…"

Aria trailed off, but Spencer knew she was going to finish with _her child_. If Spencer's calculations were correct, the baby would be around 2 years old now. Would it have Alison's signature confident smile and… Byron's squinty eyes? Spencer wanted to throw up at the thought, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what Aria wanted to do when she thought about it.

She looked at Aria intently. There was still a tinge of green to her thinned-down features, probably from the constant thought of her dad and Alison together. Aria looked up at Spencer and said, one last time with determination, "If I tell him everything, I'm mainly just hoping that he can make the situation seem better than it actually is."

_That shouldn't be too hard considering_, Spencer thought to herself, but she didn't say this out loud. Instead, she squeezed Aria's hand encouragingly. "If getting closure seems like the best option, go ahead. I'll agree with anything you say at this point if it means you feeling better."

Aria sighed and sat up a little, propping herself up on her elbows again. "I just want this whole thing to be over, Spence."

Spencer looked down at her friend, then took Aria and manipulated her so that her head was resting in Spencer's lap. Aria closed her eyes and started to fall asleep as Spencer stroked her hair, whispering, "Believe me. I do, too. I do, too."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, this chapter might be kinda boring, but it should pick up to speed by the next chapter. It would just be super long otherwise, and I didn't want that. BUT, now we're bringing the Father of the Year (insert sarcasm) into the story, so hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, because here comes Byron Montgomery!**

**Read and send me your thoughts as always. You guys have all been so kind, and I REALLY appreciate it :)**

* * *

Emily was just about to restock the cinnamon breakfast muffins behind the counter at the Rear Window Brew that same day, when she heard the jingle of the bell as the door to the restaurant opened. She stood up from her crouching position and saw Hanna, who was shaking like a Chihuahua, in front of her.

"Hanna," Emily said, surprised, as she rushed from behind the counter to assist Hanna, who looked like she was about to faint. "Are you okay?"

"No," Hanna weakly responded as a tear rolled down her cheek. Emily steadied Hanna and walked her over to a chair, and Hanna promptly collapsed into it. Emily lowered herself so that she was at eye level with Hanna.

"Hanna, what happened? Did you talk to Spencer? What did she say? What did YOU say?"

Hanna just stared blankly into nowhere in particular as she recounted everything that just happened. "I… I told her off, in the same way that I told Mona off at the Quiz-off. I told her that she needed to stay away from all of us, or else…"

"Or else what?"

Hanna just shook her head. "She wouldn't back down. She said Aria _needs_ her, whatever that means. And she kept trying to convince me that she's on our side, but I… I'm not ready to believe her."

"Why not?"

Hanna looked up at Emily with eyes filled with tears. "She was _just like Mona_ when she tried to persuade me. It felt like she was in the room with us. I'm not ready for Spencer to take advantage of me in the same way that Mona did. I'm just not."

She let out a small, hiccupped sob as Emily leaned over to hug her friend. She rubbed Hanna's back comfortingly as she asked, "Was Aria there to witness it all?"

"No," Hanna said into Emily's shoulder, causing Emily to unravel her arms from around Hanna and lean back so she could listen in more. "She was asleep, but I know that Spencer is gonna tell her everything, and make _me_ seem like the bad guy."

Emily sighed sadly. "What about Mrs. Montgomery?"

"I'm sure she was confused when I stormed out of her apartment, but I honestly don't care anymore," Hanna said hopelessly as she leaned back into the chair.

Emily reached over and wiped a tear off of Hanna's cheek. "I'm so sorry. But I hope you know that I appreciate you doing that."

"_Why_?!" Hanna exclaimed, confused. "I might've just made the situation worse! For one, she's not backing down, and she could seriously hurt Aria as long as she's still there because Aria probably still trusts her! And for another, if I'm right and she's on the A-team for real, I might've just signed my death sentence! _Our_ death sentence!"

"And if _I'm_ right, that's not happening," Emily assured, "Spencer won't lay a finger on you if you told her not to. She's probably scared for what her next move should be."

Hanna let out a shaky breath. "I hope you're right. Mannequins are a lot harder than they look."

This caused Emily to crack a slight smile as she embraced Hanna once more. She needed to be strong, but worry and concern were swirling through her head collectively. _I shouldn't have made her do this_, she thought, _I might've just put her in danger_. But it was too late now. She could only cross her fingers and hope that Spencer was truly on their side and that Hanna wouldn't get hurt.

* * *

"I wish you'd just let me drive you there," Spencer said into the phone, "I'm worried."

Aria just sighed as she pulled onto her street. "I'm fine, okay? I'm almost there, nothing bad happened. And besides, how are you gonna drive with a sprained ankle that, frankly, you're not exactly very careful with?"

It was a few days after Hanna had told off Spencer, and Aria had finally built up enough courage to talk to her father. But just because she had built up the courage, that didn't mean she wasn't still scared out of her mind. She was so afraid that she was going to break down the minute she saw his face, but she needed for him to know how this had spiraled out of control and brought them to where they were today.

Spencer leaned back against the bed post. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But… are you sure you're gonna be okay? You haven't talked to your dad in a week."

"And that'll stretch on for longer if we use that excuse every time," Aria pointed out as she pulled into her driveway. She let out a shaky breath. "Spence, I'm here."

Spencer shot up out of her repose. "Do you want to stay on the phone with me?"

"No," Aria said reluctantly as she looked to the house, "no, I need to do this on my own. Thank you though, I appreciate it."

"Anytime, and just let me know if you need anything after. If you need me to come pick you up or whatever."

"Well, I won't be doing that because _you can't drive_!" Aria said cynically. Despite Spencer believing that she was back to health, her ankle was getting worse and worse each day. Her burns were getting better, but her ankle didn't seem to be healing fast enough for whatever reason. It could be because she wasn't propping it up the way she should've been, but Aria believed it was because of the stress of everything that was going on. It was weighing heavily on Aria, but it was weighing just as bad on Spencer. The only difference was that Spencer was way better at pulling herself together in Aria's eyes.

Spencer pouted into the phone. "Well then what am I supposed to do this entire time? I've already read almost every book on your shelf… God, I'm turning into you!"

Aria laughed at this. When they were younger, all of the girls used to joke about how Aria always had her nose in a piece of literature, and if she didn't, she was writing a piece of her own. Those habits were still very much present today. "Well, now you know what happens when you spend too much time with me! And how about getting started on the massive pile of _schoolwork_ my mom brought home for us?"

"But there's so much to _do_," Spencer whined, causing Aria to laugh again.

"Well," she said matter-of-factly while tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, "I know you're unfamiliar with the concept because you've had perfect attendance since age 5, but this is what happens when people skip a week of school!"

She could hear Spencer's mouth drop open on the other end, and with one final laugh she said goodbye and hung up. She looked up at her house. It had once seemed so mysteriously welcoming, with its dark, bohemian vibe and wooden infrastructure. But now, it just seemed haunting, as though the minute she stepped inside, every secret everyone in her family had ever kept, every lie they had ever told, would just start swirling around her to the point that they just carried her away, never to be seen again. _This is it_, she thought to herself, _I'll tell him what I know, and what happened, and then maybe he'll have an explanation for it. Maybe he can find a way to make it all better._

_Maybe he's not so bad after all_.

With that small bit of hope left in her heart, she took her keys out of the ignition and made her way toward the front door to her house. She walked slowly and nervously, yet she was able to walk more swiftly than before, probably because the bruises on her back had started to fade, and she wasn't as sore as she was at the beginning of the week. She put the key to her house in the lock and shakily turned it so that she could walk in.

Her father was sitting at the kitchen table with a stack of papers that needed grading and a mug of coffee that needed drinking. It was a Saturday, so he wasn't dressed formally; he was in a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt. For a brief minute, Aria wondered what he was wearing when he had hurt Alison that dreadful day years ago, but she just shuddered at the thought and pushed it out of her head.

Her dad looked up when he heard the door open, and stood up out of his chair immediately.

"Aria!"

Aria just stood there and nodded her head in response to her name, while her dad walked toward her. "I heard about the accident, but your mother wouldn't let me come see you! Are you okay?"

He came up to Aria and tried to touch her arm, but Aria immediately flinched and pulled away. Her dad took this time to take a good look at her.

"You look so thin. Has your mother been feeding you?"

"Of _course_ Mom has been feeding me," Aria growled, "she takes _way_ better care of me than you ever have!"

Byron was alarmed by his daughter's sudden assertiveness. "Aria, what's wrong? Why are you being like this?"

Aria just bowed her head gloomily. She didn't want to be here. She could've been at her mother's apartment, snuggled in bed, shutting out the world and denying that all of this had ever happened. But it _did_ happen, and she needed to find out more about it. She needed answers. She needed more information about the dreadful event that instigated the torture she and her friends had to endure for the past 2 years.

And, unfortunately, this was the only way to do that.

"Dad, there's something that I need to tell you."

* * *

**Cliffhanger. Are you mad? SORRY! I should have the next chapter posted soon, so you won't have to wait too long for the continued confrontation between these two.**


	12. Chapter 12

**3 chapters in 1 DAY?! You guys better love me for this and start reviewing like CRAZY! I love this chapter. A lot goes down, and it leads to something HUGE! I say that every time, but something is about to go down possibly next chapter, and I am SO EXCITED for it!**

**I added in a little Haleb in this chapter, because I felt bad that we haven't really had any couple moments in this story yet. Also, Caleb is the perfect boyfriend, so...**

* * *

Caleb sat down at a table outside of the Brew with a coffee in each hand and passed one over to Hanna while he planted a kiss on her cheek. Hanna smiled in response, but that smile was gone in an instant.

Catching on to this, Caleb spoke up. "Hanna what's wrong?"

Retracted from her daze, Hanna sat up abruptly. "Nothing! I'm just… tired."

"How could you be tired?" Caleb laughed. "You've been absent from school all week. I doubt you spent all this time staying up late studying."

"Well, you know, being caught in a fire takes a lot out of you," Hanna said sarcastically while holding up her arm, which was still littered in scratches and burns.

Caleb suddenly softened, and took Hanna's hands in his. "When I found out about that, I was so scared that something had happened to you. I'm so glad you made it out okay."

"Yeah, okay _physically_," Hanna muttered. This was not intended for Caleb's ears, but he heard it anyway.

"Hanna, when are you going to tell me about what happened in that fire? Did it have to do with A? Did A do this to you?"

Hanna just looked out into the street. Caleb already knew so much, and he had already paid the consequences when he got shot a few months ago. She didn't want him knowing anymore than he needed for the moment, and she would tell him everything when she was simply ready to.

"I already told you," she said simply, "it was just a kitchen fire."

"That spread all the way around the building?" Caleb retorted in disbelief.

"Are you forgetting that it's a building filled with psychopaths?" Hanna asked bluntly. "One of them probably freaked out and managed to spread it."

Caleb clearly still didn't believe Hanna, but he let it slide. "Well, I got your favorite. Hazelnut. So drink up so you can pull yourself out of this downer state and be back to your usual snarky self."

Hanna punched him playfully on the arm in defense, and Caleb just laughed. She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, which, she admitted, was pretty good. She let the warmth of it spread throughout her entire body before leaning over the table and kissing Caleb lovingly on the mouth. "Thank you."

He tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear so he got a full view of her face. Her flawless fair skin glowed under the sunlight, and as he took in her beauty, he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her, here, in front of him. If she were to disappear, he didn't know what he would do.

"I love you, Hanna, and I want to do whatever I can to keep you safe. I hope you realize that."

Hanna just averted her gaze once again. She couldn't bear to keep looking into Caleb's soft, loving brown eyes, or she would crack. She knew she would.

"I know you are," she said honestly, "but I'm trying to do the same to you, and that's why you need to stay out of it. Okay?"

Caleb just sighed and leaned back into his chair, knowing he wasn't going to win this one. Before he could come up with a clever way to argue, Hanna's phone chimed. She pulled it out of her bag nonchalantly, but as soon as she opened the text, her mouth dropped open and her face paled.

This caught Caleb's attention. "Hanna, what's wrong? Did A send you a text?"

But she didn't hear him. She was up from the table and down the street, gone in an instant, with her coffee still on the table, forgotten. Caleb stood up from his chair and repeatedly called her name, but she was immune to his calls.

Once she got to her car, she got in the driver's seat and sat there, taking deep breaths, as she continued to stare at the message. And stare and stare some more.

_Look who's paying for your mistakes!_

_-A_

Attached was a photo of Emily, in a hospital bed, seemingly asleep, with wires crossing every which-way all around her.

* * *

Byron had managed to convince Aria to sit on the couch, so she sat on the far end as she prepared herself for what she was about to say.

"I know about how you raped Alison."

Byron's mouth simply dropped open, and she noticed a kind of fury in his eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time. "What would make you say that?"

"Because… she told me."

The fury in Byron's eyes just continued to get stronger and stronger, and Aria could feel herself becoming weaker and weaker under his fixed stare. At that moment, Mike started to trot down the stairs, causing Aria and Byron to turn their heads in his direction. Mike caught on to the tension immediately, so he attempted to smooth the waters. "Oh... hey, Aria's back."

"Mike, can you go back upstairs, please?" Byron asked curtly.

Mike narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "No… I haven't eaten all day; I need a snack. Why? What's going on?"

Aria decided she shouldn't leave her brother out of this, as it was his father, too, so she whipped her head back toward her father as she spoke to Mike. "No, Mike, go ahead. Stay if you want. We were just talking about how Dad _molested my best friend_."

"_WHAT?!_"

"ARIA!" Her dad growled warningly.

"What, Dad? WHAT?" Aria shouted. "He has every right to know! This affects him, too!"

"What affects me?" Mike asked shrilly as he walked briskly toward the couch. "What's going on?"

"Go ahead, Dad," Aria said, coldly, "go ahead and tell your son about how you cornered Alison and _raped her_."

"Alison?" Mike squeaked. But Aria ignored him as she continued to pound her father. "Tell him, Dad. _Is this true or not?_"

Byron darted his eyes between his furious daughter and his frightened son, and finally, he stood up from the couch and shouted the last thing that they both wanted to hear.

"_She was provoking me!_"

Aria's heart stopped. All this time, although she knew that it was the only option that seemed to make sense, there was a small part of her that was denying that it could be real. But here her father stood, _admitting_ to it.

It was true.

Aria's vision blurred with tears. "How could you do that to her? She was a _child_. She didn't deserve it!"

"Alison DiLaurentis did some pretty shady stuff down at Hollis, so don't go around defending her."

"I'll defend her if I want!" Aria snapped. "She was my friend, and I know she did some stuff that I didn't necessarily like, but _no one_ deserves that, Dad. _No one_!"

"She tried to ruin my family, Aria!" Byron shouted back.

"SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO!" Aria screamed, now in full hysterics. "YOU ALREADY DID!"

All of a sudden, Aria couldn't take it. She needed to get out of the house. She no longer wanted to go through with her plans of telling her father everything. He didn't deserve the truth. With that, Aria started toward the door.

But Byron was quick. He grabbed Aria forcefully by the arm, causing Aria to yelp in pain. He ignored this, however, as he forced her to look him in the eyes.

"You said Alison told you this," he growled into her face, "but that's impossible. She's dead."

"Dad-"

"Is she alive?" he said, his voice cracking. "Has she really just been missing this entire time? How could she have told you this?"

Aria noticed the terror and distress in her father's eyes, and wanted more than anything to tell him everything right then and there. About how Alison was holding this entire thing over _Aria's_ head and wanted to get back at _her_ for everything that _he_ did. About how she was still out there somewhere. About how Byron himself had a _child_ with a _17-year-old_. About how everything that Aria had to endure was all his fault.

But she needed to be strong and hold off on revealing this information. If he was so desperate to know, what if he went off on his own search and hurt Alison _again_, as thought to finish the job? What if he found out about her child and did something to it? What if he just made the situation worse?

That was the last thing Aria needed.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed, but that just made him pull harder, until Aria was practically hovering above the ground.

"Dad, my _arm_!"

"Aria, tell me now, _is Alison DiLaurentis alive!_?!"

Suddenly, the grip on her arm was released as Mike, using all the strength he could muster, threw his father against the wall.

"She _said_ don't _touch her!_"

And with that, he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her out the door, not once looking back to see the heartbroken, yet also infuriated, expression on his father's face.

Once they were outside, Aria released Mike's grip and ran to her car, where she launched herself into the driver's seat. Mike followed suit and sat in the passenger seat, keeping a close eye on his sister. Aria looked over and took in the sight of Mike. She felt horrible for dragging him into this, but it was too late. She put the keys into the ignition and bolted out of the driveway.

She drove at roughly 50mph all the way over to the Rear Window Brew, before completely losing it. She broke down into tears while her little brother reached over and wrapped his strong arms around her. They sat like this for a minute before Aria managed to catch her breath and release herself from Mike's grip. She looked at his face and saw that he had been crying as well.

She reached over and wiped the tears from his eyes lovingly. "Oh, Mike," she said apologetically, "I can't believe I brought you into this. I'm so, so sorry."

"No," he croaked, "don't be. I'm glad you did. It's better that I know so that I can get out of there."

Aria affectionately rubbed Mike's shoulder. "I don't want you to have to stay there with him. But Spencer is already staying at the apartment. I don't know if there's enough room…"

"I can just stay at a friend's house then," Mike said with a shrug, "and I can sneak back into the house to get my stuff with no trouble."

Aria lowered her head as more tears spilled out of her eyes. "It shouldn't have to be this way."

"But it is," Mike said, and he tilted Aria's head up so that she was fully facing him, her hazel eyes meeting his identical ones, "and I can handle it. Whatever it is, it'll be hard, but I'll be _fine_."

As Aria looked at Mike up and down appraisingly, she began to realize that he was more than just her little brother now. He had grown up into a charming young man who would do anything to protect her, and she would do the same for him. She pulled her brother in for one more hug, lingering in longer this time, until he finally pulled away. He then looked at her carefully.

"What was that you said about Alison being alive?"

Aria's blood went cold. "I… made that up. It was just to get him to tell the truth."

It was a pretty reasonable lie, but Mike had known Aria all his life, and he was able to easily detect when she was spinning something. However, he didn't push it.

"You'll tell me when you're ready," he said with a knowing glance as he placed his hand on the door handle. Just as he was about to get out of the car, Aria stopped him.

"Wait! You said you were hungry; let me buy you something while you're here. My treat."

"Are you sure?"

"It's the least I can do," she said insistently as she got out of the car with him.

"Okay, but on one condition," he said, turning to face her, "you get something, too! I swear, you've gotten smaller since I last saw you."

Aria just rolled her eyes as she started to walk toward the Brew. "That was a week ago, Mike."

"Still, I missed you."

And with that, Aria halted in the middle of the street to face her brother. His cheeks were tear-stained, and there was a certain sadness to his features, now that he was fully corrupted, but there was also a small speck of light in his eyes at the sight of his sister in front of him.

"I missed you too," she answered honestly with a smile. There bonding moment was interrupted, however, by Aria's phone ringing. She shot Mike an apologetic glance before pulling it out of her pocket. It was Hanna.

Confused, she answered it. "Hey, Hanna. What's up?"

"_Aria, where are you? Are you at your mom's apartment_?"

"No…" Aria answered warily, "I'm at the Brew with my brother. I was just about to buy us lunch and then go back there. Why?"

"_Aria, whatever you do, do NOT go back there!_"

Aria was now getting frustrated. She held up her finger to Mike as she walked away from where he was standing on the street. "_Why_, Hanna? Is this just about Spencer again? She is chewing her hair off because you guys refuse to trust her. She just wants you back in her life again!"

"_No she doesn't! That's all just an ACT!_" Hanna shouted, and Aria could tell by the tone of her voice that she had been crying.

"Hanna, what's wrong?" Aria asked, now concerned.

There was silence on the other end, probably from Hanna pulling herself together. But then she managed to swallow and tell Aria, "_I'll explain later. Just come to the hospital. Emily's hurt_." And then she hung up.

Aria nearly dropped her phone in the middle of the street. What _happened_? She looked back to her brother, who was shooting her a worried glance. Conflicted, Aria walked over to her brother while simultaneously pulling a 20-dollar-bill out of her wallet.

"Here, buy something with this," she said hurriedly.

"Wait, Aria! What's going on?"

"Nothing for you to worry about," she trembled, "something just came up, and I… I have to go."

And with that, she left her brother in his confused state as she walked to her car and drove away, tears threatening to escape from the back of her throat the entire drive.


	13. Chapter 13

**Alright you guys, from this point forward, things are REALLY going to start happening. Like, REALLY! I'm not very happy with this chapter because of what goes down, but it had to be done, so bear with me.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite, follow, WHATEVER, if you like it! :)**

* * *

"I really wish that I could see you right now. It's killing me."

"I'd like that," Spencer giggled into the phone, "but I'm not at my own house right now, I'm at Aria's mother's apartment. I don't know what she'll think when a 28-year-old British doctor just randomly shows up at the door."

Spencer could practically _hear_ Wren smiling at this, and immediately the image of his perfectly charming smile entered his mind. "I could simply tell her that I'm here to see my favorite patient!"

"She sees right through that kind of crap," Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"Well, how about I take you to lunch? It'll be good for you, to help you get your mind off of everything."

"I would _love_ that, seriously," Spencer moaned, "I could really use a break from this massive pile of homework in front of me. What time works for you?"

Wren looked at his watch and at the paperwork on the clipboard in front of him. "Well, unless something comes up, I can probably take you out now. How do you say I pick you up in around 10 minutes? What's the address?"

Spencer couldn't stop herself from smiling. She hadn't been this happy in days. Wren had been consistently texting her ever since the night of the fire, but she had ignored him because she was so focused on Aria, as well as on feeling sorry for herself because Hanna and Emily hated her. But she had finally found it in her to call him back, and it was the best decision she had made all week. He was just so _sweet_, and he genuinely cared about her. Spencer didn't know what they exactly were, relationship-wise, but she was content at the moment to know that Wren was a part of her life.

She was about to give him an answer, when she heard the door slam open. She looked up, and Aria was standing in the doorway, trembling so terribly Spencer would've thought they were caught in an earthquake.

"Wren, I'll call you back," she rushed out before hanging up the phone and rushing to Aria's side. Aria collapsed forward, and Spencer managed to catch her in her arms just in time. However, she forgot that her ankle was still badly sprained, so she let out a cry in pain and collapsed to the floor with a delirious Aria still in her arms.

The two girls sat there, breathing heavily, before Spencer finally spoke up. "How did the talk with your dad go? Are you okay?"

Aria slowed down her breathing before finally whispering, "I am far from okay, but that doesn't matter right now. Emily is in the hospital."

* * *

"Hanna!"

Hanna looked up from her chair to see Aria running into the room with eyes full of tears. She stood up and pulled Aria into a hug, rubbing circles along her back, until Aria pulled away.

"How is she?" she asked concernedly. "Is she okay? Hanna, what _happened_?"

"All I know is that A did this," Hanna responded tearfully, "she sent me a text right after. It said 'Look who's paying for your mistakes!'"

"What the hell does that mean?"

As Aria said this, Spencer appeared in the hallway, with Wren, who had spotted her on the way up. He was assisting her with her crutches to make sure she didn't hurt herself. As soon as Hanna laid her eyes on Spencer, she lunged.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing here?!"

"Hanna!" both Aria and Wren warned at the same time, but Hanna could not be stopped.

"Pretty clever, I'll give you that. You had us fooled, thinking you were going to go after _me_, but instead you had to go after the ones that I care about. _Really fucking brilliant_, Spence."

"Spencer, what is she talking about?" Wren asked, confused.

"Hanna, please don't do this!" Aria pleaded as she stepped up to where Hanna and Spencer were. Hanna was glaring angrily at Spencer, and Spencer was standing there with eyes widened like a lost puppy.

"No, YOU stop, Aria!" Hanna bellowed, now fully facing Aria. "Why can't you see it? I stand up to Mona, and A hurts me. I stand up to _Spencer_, who we just found out is a member of the A-team, and _Emily_, my best friend, gets hurt by A, so that _I_ get hurt as a side-effect! Spencer is still against us, which is why she hurt Emily!"

Aria's eyes widened as she looked at Hanna, then at Spencer, then back at Hanna. How could this be true? Would Spencer really do that?

_No, she couldn't_, Aria reassured herself internally, _she was with me all week, it's impossible_.

But suddenly a realization hit Aria, and she could feel herself becoming lightheaded with this newfound information.

Spencer wasn't with her when she went to talk to her father.

"When could I have hurt Emily?" Spencer asked, bewildered, ignoring Wren's pleading, confused looks right next to her. "I've stayed in the same spot for days! Aria can testify to that!"

"Actually…"

Both Spencer and Hanna whipped their heads so that they were facing Aria, who's doe eyes were rounded with hurt and, sadly, _betrayal_. "When I drove off to talk to my dad… she could've done something to Emily then."

"Aria!" Spencer cried. All this time, she thought that she had truly gained back Aria's trust.

But Aria just looked to the ground, her voice shaking. "I'm sorry, Spence, but I don't know what I believe anymore. Look at Emily!" She was right; Emily looked _terrible_, with bandages stretching across her clean, tan forehead, and a cut just above her perfectly plump lips. Her usual thick, black hair lay limply on her broad shoulders, and there were so many wires that her flawless face was barely even visible. It was a gruesome sight, and Aria couldn't stand it anymore. With one final unsure glance at Spencer, she suddenly bolted, running as fast as she could away from the hospital room.

"Aria!" Spencer screamed, but there was no way she could catch up with her on crutches. Wren quickly grabbed a wheelchair from nearby and sat Spencer in it. Much to Hanna's dismay, he gave her a strong starting push, and she was off after Aria like lightning.

She was amazed that she didn't crash into anything as she kept wheeling herself forward, but Aria was not in her line of sight. She kept wheeling forward as quickly as she could until she spotted a small dark figure near the front doors of the hospital.

_Aria_.

"Aria, please wait!" Spencer croaked, and finally Aria stopped. She stood still for a few seconds, her back toward Spencer, as Spencer continued to wheel herself forward to where she was directly behind Aria. Aria slowly rotated her body so that she was facing Spencer, and Spencer felt her blood turn to ice.

She had never seen Aria look this angry.

"How could you?" she whispered, her hazel eyes piercing through Spencer's heart.

"Aria, I would NEVER-"

"Was this your plan all along?" Aria continued. "To find a way back to my trust and then just _destroy_ it by hurting the people I care about? That we _all_ care about? How could you _do_ that to Emily!?"

"Aria, I wouldn't-"

"Then who was it Spencer?!" Aria barked. Tears pricked at the front of her eyes, and she was looking at Spencer with so much fury that Spencer knew that if she weren't already in a sitting position, she would be fully on the ground right now.

"I… I don't know," Spencer stuttered, "I honestly don't, Aria, you have to believe me. Please."

Spencer was looking up at Aria with pleading eyes, and Aria almost cracked under the pressure. But there were _so_ many facts against her right now. Everything fell perfectly into place! So she just blinked back her tears and kept her foot firmly on the ground.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled only slightly audibly, "I just don't know who I can trust anymore. I've lost everything, Spence. I don't want to lose you, too."

"And you haven't!" Spencer whispered, trying to relay the message onto Aria, but suddenly Aria's eyes turned a dark gray that Spencer had never seen on them before.

"I wanna believe that," she said, "but not now. Maybe later, but not now."

And with that, she opened the door, and was gone before Spencer could stop her. Spencer propped herself out of her chair into a full standing position and leaned against the wall, collapsing into a fit of sobs. As she slid down the wall, she became more and more consumed by her own tears. She slowly started to catch her breath, but her heart was still pounding and her mind was still racing. The one person in Rosewood who truly believed in her was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had no one by her side, and she was completely alone.

As soon as she was breathing normally again, she knew what she needed to do. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called up the first person she could think of, the first person that she _needed_ in order to get things to hopefully go back to normal.

"We need to talk," Spencer growled into the phone, "_Now_."

Meanwhile, Aria kept running and running and running, as far away from the hospital as she could, until she couldn't run anymore. She stopped at an old, deserted alleyway, coughing and sputtering from running so fast. She then collapsed to the ground, having a full-blown anxiety attack. She wrapped her arms around herself as she stayed on her knees, and just let the tears fall. She was just beginning to trust her best friend again, and she had _betrayed_ her again! She had hurt Emily. She had already hurt Aria. Hanna was probably next. Aria couldn't believe she let herself think all this time that Spencer actually cared about her.

Aria finally managed to calm herself down after several minutes of crying. She sat back onto her knees and picked herself slowly off of the ground. There was dust all over her dark-wash skinny jeans, but she chose to ignore it as she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of these jeans. She leaned against the wall to support her still very physically weak body, and started to dial digits rapidly into her phone. She called up the first person she could think of, the first person that she _needed_ in order to get things to hopefully go back to normal.

"Look," she growled into the phone, "I'm going to need as much cooperation from you as possible, and I'm gonna need for you to help me in whatever way you can. You _owe_ me, so I really think that you should _do_ this for me."


	14. Chapter 14

**Alright, so some of you are going to love me for this chapter, and some of you are going to hate me for this chapter. It depends on your preference. But this chapter, guys, this is where things start to heat up. It's happening. Hold onto whatever surface you can, cuz you're gonna need it for support! Y'all are gonna get some ANSWERS!**

**Don't forget to send me reviews with your thoughts!**

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Aria knocked precisely three times on the door with enough force to make clear that she meant business. The wind was blowing, making her teeth chatter as she rubbed her arms to try to keep herself warm. Her only source of warmth was her cream colored cardigan, and it was far too light for this weather.

After she waited patiently for a minute, the door finally opened. Standing in the doorway was the tall, tan, green-eyed boy she was expecting to see.

Jason DiLaurentis.

He was staring at her, smiling, taking in her presence. Her dark brown hair hung naturally down past her shoulders, and her fair skin had the slightest tint of pink to it due to the cold. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

But her eyes were narrowed in such a determined fashion that he knew she wasn't in the mood to play games, so he stepped to the side and directed her into the house.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked politely. "I just made a pot of coffee."

"Sounds good," she said curtly with a nod of her head, "thanks."

Jason pointed to the kitchen table, implying that she take a seat, so Aria sat at the table as he got out two mugs and poured coffee for the both of them. As he sat down, mugs in hand, he instigated the conversation.

"So, that phone call sounded pretty serious. What is all this about?"

Aria took a sip of her coffee and tried her hardest not to make a face. She should have asked for sugar or milk with it. _God, it's no wonder he and Spencer are related_, she thought to herself, _this coffee is blacker than even SHE would make it!_

Ignoring the bitter taste in her mouth, she leaned forward. "What else do you know about Alison being alive? Are you really just as in the dark as we are, or is there something you're keeping?"

Jason gaped his mouth open at the mention of his sister, but he shouldn't have been surprised; he knew there could only be one reason that Aria would call him. He leaned back in his chair and studied her. "What went down when you guys saw her in the fire?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Answer _mine_, and I'll answer yours," Jason countered, giving her a clever look. Aria huffed as she looked to the ceiling in irritation. He was so _stubborn_.

But she brought her head back down and looked him in the eyes. "She wasn't just _in_ that fire, she _started_ it. As if that wasn't enough, she tried to kill me."

Jason's face remained unchanged, so she kept going. "Hanna, Emily, and… Spencer," she blurted out Spencer's name as though she was being tortured to give it up, "and myself, we've been tortured and blackmailed for two years by someone named A, who threatened to share our secrets and hurt us and those we cared about if we told anyone."

"I know," Jason said with a nod of his head, "and you found out it was Mona."

"Mona was a _part_ of it," Aria clarified, "but she wasn't the one behind it all. There was someone bigger, more powerful than Mona in charge." Aria then lowered her head, staring at her shaking hands under the table. "And that night we found out that it was Ali."

"I know."

Aria snapped her head back up. _What?_

"Wait," she said, looking at him suspiciously, "you _know_?"

Jason stood up from the table, and to Aria's horror he started to lift up his shirt. _What is he doing?_

But what he was actually doing was so much worse than what she thought he was. He lifted his shirt partly, and then turned to the side so that Aria could see a screwdriver-shaped scar on his side.

She immediately thought back to that night, how terrified she was when she could hear the roar of the engine and feel herself slowly tipping off of the train. She immediately thought of how she was being pushed to her death until she _stabbed_ the person trying to push her.

That person, apparently, was Jason.

Aria could feel her lower lip tremble. "Wha… what is this?"

"It's not what it looks like I promise," Jason said as he briskly pulled his shirt down and sat back down in his chair.

Aria shakily placed her hand on the table and felt along her wrist for the scar that she got from Halloween from desperately trying to tear herself free from the duct tape, from practically slicing her wrist open as she held her wrists up to the nail at the top of the box, rubbing against it over and over again. She looked up to Jason, who was staring at her with concern. "You were a part of it?"

"No!" he said persistently. "I wasn't, I swear!"

"Then how could I have _stabbed you_ while in that box if you weren't one of the people _pushing me off of the moving train_?" she spat, angrily.

"Let me explain, please," he pleaded, but Aria was frankly _done_ with people having to constantly explain themselves. There was no one she could trust anymore. No one.

However, she threw her hand up in the air and leaned back in her chair, giving him the most menacing look she could offer. "Proceed."

He lowered his head, hands planted firmly on the table. "I've known that Ali has been alive all this time. I'm the one that helped her escape, because I was the first person she told about the… rape."

Aria felt a chill run up her spine at the word _rape_, but she chose to ignore it. "If you knew, why did you try so hard to find out about her? Why were you so concerned that you were the one who did it?"

"It was all an act," he replied simply, "I figured it would make the most sense for me to genuinely want to find out who murdered her, so that's what I did."

_It was all an act_. At the time, Aria _truly_ felt bad for Jason; for how guilty he always felt, for how sad and alone he always looked because everyone in the town judged him as "the constantly drugged older brother of that girl who died". And that was all an act.

Even though she was extremely upset about this, Aria tried to push her personal thoughts aside as she continued to pry Jason.

"But from what I remember, you two weren't that close," Aria pointed out, confused. "Why would she tell you something as serious as that?"

"I saw her when she came home that day, and I pounded her for information on what happened," he confessed. "I was ready to beat the shit out of whoever hurt my baby sister in that way, and… she gave in." Aria could see that there were tears in his eyes, and it broke her heart. He genuinely did love Alison. He really did.

Aria bowed her head. "I'm so sorry for what my dad did," she spoke earnestly, "and if I had known at the time, I would've…" She wasn't exactly sure what she would've done, but she would've made him pay.

He reached over and grabbed her hand. She was surprised at the contact at first, but then realized how surprisingly comfortable she felt with her hand in his. "It's not your fault. But I was a stupid kid. I didn't know how to deal with a _rape_ victim, so I cleaned up her injuries and everything, but… I forgot to give her an emergency contraception."

Aria's eyes widened. _How does someone just FORGET that?_ But Jason just kept talking. "And _boom_, a couple months later, she runs to me, tells me she's pregnant, and _begs_ me to help her run away."

Aria stared at him blankly, slowly trying to process everything he just said. "That's quite a story," she whispered, and he nodded his head in response.

"She put on a black wig, packed a bag full of only necessary items, and was off on a Greyhound to God-knows-where."

"Wait," Aria interrupted, "you don't know where she was all that time?"

"She refused to tell me! She kept saying that it wasn't safe. All I know is she had built up this fake identity so that she could live on her own. I don't know how she did it, but she did. Then a year later, she came back, once my parents had moved out, and I helped to hide her upstairs."

So _that_ was what Vivian Darkbloom was for. All that time, she was building up a fake identity so that she could run away; to raise her child.

But there were still a couple of unanswered questions. Aria took another sip of her coffee, resisted the urge to wince again at the bitter taste, and then leaned forward on the table, her hand still locked in Jason's.

"If you weren't trying to kill me," she said in as low of a voice as she could manage, "how did you get that scar?"

"It was clear that Garrett was going to spill," Jason explained, "and she didn't want the rape to get out in that way, so before he could say more Alison made me shoot him."

Aria gasped, but Jason continued. "She told me she was going to throw him off of the train, but she never mentioned that she was going to throw you off with him. So when I heard you screaming, I tried to stop her. I threw myself onto the box so that she couldn't push it. I was trying to save you!"

Aria continued to glare at him, but she saw the sincere look in his deep green eyes, and she knew that he had to be telling the truth. She could even recall someone whispering "I can't do this" and _"_you lied to me!" But she didn't give it much thought at the time because she was so scared that she was going to die.

"I believe you," she finally said, "but we're not done here."

Jason looked stunned for a second, but then straightened his features to indicate that he was listening.

"Do you know where Alison is now?" Aria asked threateningly. "And… do you know about the child?"

Jason's face suddenly hardened. "I could get in serious trouble for telling you that."

"_How_?"

"Because it took everything in me to convince them that I wasn't in on this to keep you safe!" he whispered harshly, causing Aria to lean back in surprise. _What_?

Jason stood up again and started pacing nervously around the table, and Aria just continued to stare at him. "What are you talking about?"

"When you were almost thrown off of that train," he began, "I immediately knew that my sister was up to something…" He stopped pacing for a second so that he could turn to face Aria. "And I couldn't let her do anything to you."

Aria was amazed. She had rejected him so long ago, and yet he still cared enough to be there for her…

"I immediately thought of Mona," Jason continued as he sat back down at the table, "and I figured that the two of them were somehow connected…"

"That's why you were hanging around Mona so much back in the fall," Aria thought out loud, and Jason nodded his head.

"I figured if I could get in with Mona, I could get some answers."

"So, you're telling me that you were in on this whole thing so that you could get answers, and you can't even _give_ me those answers!?" Aria asked, frustrated.

"Not here," he replied. He then walked over to the window and looked outside, then over to the window by the kitchen sink and looked outside there. He then turned back to Aria.

"But I can tell you more if you follow me."

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**Say it with me: JAAAARRRRIIIAAAAAAAA!**

**Ezria fans, relax. I'm just as big of a fan of Ezria as you are. However, I'm still trying to figure out how he can fit into this story, so for now, we've got these two hitting it off. C'mon, who doesn't love the insane chemistry they had in season 2? Ya know, the GOLDEN season? We want that back...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter that I hope you enjoy (and honestly I really think you will because it involves a fan-favorite couple ;)) Please send me your reviews telling me what you think because I'm honestly so curious and I want your opinions! Also, anything you wanna see in future chapters, lemme know, and I'll see if I can make it happen!**

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Spencer kept her head down as she sat in the booth at the old-fashioned restaurant, her black hood covering her face. She had only used the signature A-team hoodie on one other occasion, which was to kidnap Malcolm, and it felt as filthy and wrong on her as it did now. But if this was the way things needed to be done, then so be it.

After Spencer had collapsed to the ground at the hospital, Wren had caught up with her and comforted her in whatever way he could. She asked if he could drive her home to get a change of clothes, since it became clear that she wouldn't be staying with Aria anymore, and then to the restaurant just outside of town, and he agreed. Anything to make her happy.

Now, here she was, in the booth of the dimly lit restaurant, her crutches placed underneath the table, waiting for the one person who, if she cooperated, could answer all of her questions.

The jingle of the bell at the door to the restaurant rang out, and Spencer heard footsteps heading toward her, until they abruptly stopped right in front of her. Spencer noticed two tiny feet on the ground before her, and when she slowly lifted her head, she was face to face with none other than Mona Vanderwaal.

"You rang?" Mona sneered with a raised eyebrow.

Spencer just gave the most satanic glare that she could directly at Mona. "I choked you once, Mona," she spat, "I can easily choke you again."

"And draw so much attention to yourself?" Mona whispered menacingly as she slithered her way into the cushion seat across from Spencer. "It's already not looking so good for poor little miss Hastings. I can't imagine it getting any worse for your reputation."

"I stopped worrying about my _reputation_ a long time ago, Mona," Spencer said coldly, "I just want my life back, okay? Is that too much to ask? What could you _possibly_ have on me and my friends that would make you want to join _Ali_ to get back at us? She was the one who was holding the knife all along! Don't blame us!"

"You actually think I joined _forces_ with her?" Mona barked.

"All I know is that you're going pretty far out of your way to make me look bad. I know you hurt Emily; you just wanted to make it seem like I was the one to hurt her so that my friends would hate me. Emily probably hates me, I _know_ Hanna hates me, and now even Aria hates me! I'm not clear on what _you_ gain from all of this!"

"_Recognition_," Mona hissed, "Respect. Power. Everything that I've always wanted ever since junior high. And now I've got it. All because I outsmarted the all-knowing Spencer Hastings."

"That makes _no_ sense!" Spencer cried. "You're not _getting_ any recognition because _everyone in this fucking town still thinks you're good_!"

"I'm getting recognition from Alison!" Mona snapped, throwing herself over the table. "And that is _all_ that matters! I never got it back then, and I can finally get it all now!"

Spencer froze in her spot on the cushion. _That_ was what this all was about? No, there had to be more. Mona still looked like she had more to share, so Spencer folded her arms across her chest and prepared herself for a serious confession.

"Two years ago, when this whole thing started," Mona began, "I was not a part of it. But I found out about it early on. Hanna was never good at lying, so once when she wasn't looking I went through her phone and found all of the A texts. I wanted to confront her about it, but I noticed her becoming… distanced."

Spencer cocked her head slightly in confusion, so Mona leaned forward so that Spencer could hear her better. "She wasn't spending as much time with me, and she seemed almost _annoyed_ whenever she was around me. When Alison went missing, we found a way to bond and become great friends, and _you_ all found a way to ruin that!"

Spencer's jaw dropped, and Mona simply smiled sinisterly. "So I found my way over to A, saying I wanted in. I didn't know who was running it, or why, but I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to get back at all of you for taking Hanna away from me."

"But we never did," Spencer whispered desperately, "she was always your friend! She would bend over backwards for you at the time, but you never did anything to acknowledge that!"

"What I _did_ or _didn't_ do isn't important," Mona scowled, "the important thing is I _didn't_ team up with Alison because _I never knew it was her in the first place!_"

Spencer could feel the blood rushing to her head. "What?"

Mona suddenly softened, and leaned even further forward secretively. "Her identity was a secret the entire time. She was just wearing a mask."

"You didn't even recognize her _voice_?"

"She never _spoke_," Mona hissed. "All of my assignments were given to me through text or writing. Of course, how could I expect you to know that when you were with us for a total of 5 minutes," she added, giving Spencer a judging once-over that sent a chill up Spencer's spine.

"It's laughable that you actually thought I'd betray my friends like that," Spencer said darkly, "but that's in the past. The A-team should be OVER. This entire thing was just a hoax to get back at Aria, and Alison basically already did that; she scared the shit out of her!"

"I didn't know that at the time," Mona said honestly, and after scanning the restaurant briefly, she turned back to Spencer with a look that was almost… scared?

"It became clear that this was about hurting Aria the minute she planned out that whole thing on the train. I thought she was going too far, and I spoke up about it." Mona then paused for a minute to swallow loudly. "That's when she revealed herself."

Spencer's mind was screaming, but she just nodded her head, signaling for Mona to continue.

"That entire time, Alison was just playing me," Mona said in a quaking voice, "in the same way that she was playing me before she… disappeared. I wanted out. I hated not being in control. But I was in too deep. I couldn't escape."

Spencer could see Mona visibly shaking, and it was freaking her out. "So then what happened?"

"What _happened_?" Mona sputtered out incredulously. "I did whatever I could to gain her respect in the way I never could back when I was a _loser_. That's why I lashed out on you." Mona then bowed her head. "I don't think I ever apologized for that."

"It's too late for apologies," Spencer snapped, "I know there's more you're not telling me. _Where is Alison_? And is she still behind all of this? Is this whole thing still going on or not?!"

"I think I've answered enough of your questions," Mona scoffed as she stood up from the table and started to walk away. Spencer shot up as well, her hood falling down to reveal her brown hair tied back into a bun and her caramel eyes filled with fury.

"HEY! We're not done here!"

"Fine." Mona pivoted so that she was facing Spencer again. "I'll tell you one more thing if it'll get you to shut up."

Spencer was about to protest, but she closed her mouth and crossed her arms, waiting for the next reveal.

Mona walked forward until she was directly in front of Spencer. She was about half a foot shorter, even with Spencer putting all of her weight on her one foot that wasn't sprained, but she still looked incredibly intimidating. "Emily was hit by a car. That's how she got hurt. But _I'm_ not the one who was behind the wheel."

And with that, Mona walked out of the restaurant, but Spencer was too stunned to stop her. _It wasn't her?_ She could be lying, but why would she lie now? And who else could it be? She doubted Alison would want to be seen publicly like that.

Unless…

"How ya doin' tonight, Pretty Eyes?" a round, middle-aged African American waitress greeted from behind the counter. "Sit yourself down, I'll get your usual."

"Thank you, Marlene," a voice said, and Spencer's heart stopped. That voice sounded awfully familiar. It was a voice that was sweeter than a ribbon of honey. It was a voice that she knew so well that she would recognize it anywhere.

A tall, muscular figure stepped forward into Spencer's line of sight, and her fear was confirmed the minute her brown eyes locked with his piercing blue ones. His _pretty eyes_.

It was Toby.

And in that moment, Spencer could feel the ground move out from under her, and everything went black.

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**Boom.**

**Spoby fans? Are you still BREATHING? Hope so, because there's MORE! I should have the next chapter up by tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled! Again, don't forget to review/favorite/WHATEVER to tell me that you like it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's some more Jaria for you guys, but I've noticed you guys have been slacking on the reviews lately, so I have a proposition: I have the next few chapters written, but I will ONLY post them if I get enough motivation from you guys. SO if you read it, review it! Even if you're a guest, REVIEW! Cuz I really wanna know what you guys think!**

**Also, this chapter might be a lot to process, but it hopefully shouldn't be too confusing. Let me know!**

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Aria took a good look around the motel room at the Lost Woods Resort before turning back to Jason. "Why do we need to be down here for you to tell me everything?"

"Ever since Mona went to Radley and they cleaned out their lair, they try to stay away from here," Jason answered. He sat down on the bed, and pat his hand down on the comforter to signal that she do the same. She sighed and sat down next to him.

"Ali," she spoke up. "Where is she?"

"I'll get there, okay?" he replied with a raise of his eyebrows. "First, you need to know some things."

"Such as?"

"The other people on the team. Ali's main motive was to get back at you, but it wasn't the motive of all of them."

Aria's breath caught in her throat. "So… this whole thing _wasn't_ entirely my fault?"

"Of course not," he said comfortingly, but she wasn't convinced in the least. He sighed and continued. "I don't want you to ever think that, no matter what she told you. She's just…"

"Evil?"

Jason sighed. "You could say that."

"If you know that, then why would you try and help her in the first place?"

"She's my sister, Aria," he said morosely while he placed his head in his hands, "I don't know what to tell you. When she came to ask for my help, she looked so scared and… I folded." He then looked up from his hands to face her. "And I know you would do the same for Mike."

Aria's heart sank. He was right. She _would_ do the same for Mike. When Mike _begged_ her not to tell their parents about his breaking and entering, he looked just as scared, and when he crumbled in her arms after hitting their mother with his computer, it was the same thing. In both of those instances, she knew she would do whatever it took to protect him.

And Jason was doing the same for Ali.

"But things changed," he continued gravely, "and she kept asking for me to… _do_ stuff for her. Weird stuff. Like…"

"Develop creepy pictures of me sleeping?" Aria asked bluntly.

"For one," he agreed, "even though I never found them creepy. They captured your beauty perfectly."

At this comment, Aria actually found herself smiling, but she quickly wiped it away. She was here on business. "So you never really found that film in a box under her floorboard."

"Nope, she had taken them recently I guess. But I never knew at the time that she was… sneaking into your house or anything."

Aria felt a chill spike up her spine. A- Alison- had been in her HOUSE. While she was ASLEEP. Knowing now what Ali had against Aria, it was scary to think that she could've just killed her right then and there.

Jason looked at her, concerned, for a minute, before Aria composed herself. "How long was this going on for?"

"Like I told you, all the way up until the Halloween Train, when I _finally_ discovered what was going on," he said. "So… I told her that I wanted to be in on it."

"How did you manage to convince her?"

Jason lowered his eyes before speaking up. "I told her it was to get back at you for rejecting me."

Aria could feel the tears building up in the back of her throat, but she held them down. "Jason-"

"Don't worry about it," he interjected while placing his hand lovingly on her arm, "it was just a way for me to get on the inside. I didn't actually mean it."

"I'm still sorry," she whispered.

Jason lowered his head back toward his lap. "Anyway," he continued, "I was the only one who knew who she truly was. As Red Coat. Mona and Toby had no idea."

"And Spencer?"

"I never saw much of Spencer," he admitted. "She was in on it for a very short period of time."

Aria slouched a little, pondering this. "What convinced her to join?"

"Well, I don't know what Mona said to her at Radley, but she was in straight off the bat. Until we found out it was just a hoax, that is."

Aria's heart immediately skipped a beat. "Wh… what?"

_So she wasn't lying about that_.

"But that doesn't make any sense," she squeaked out, "I mean, that's what she told us the night of the fire, but Hanna never believed it and straight up told her off later on. I left Spencer alone for, like, an _hour_, and she used that time to hurt Emily in some way to get back at Hanna!"

"You thought that was _Spencer_?"

Aria could feel her face drain of color. "Was it… not?"

Jason noticed her paler complexion, and grew worried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered hastily. "Just answer my question. Was it or was it not Spencer that hurt Emily?"

"It was _not_," he answered finally. "Ali ordered… someone else to do it."

"Why didn't you stop her? You _let_ this happen?! I thought you were in this to protect us!"

"There's only so much that I can do!" he exclaimed. "My main priority is _you_, okay? I tried to speak up, but her main focus was making Spencer look like she was still with us so she could break you guys apart, and she wouldn't listen no matter _what_ I said! I decided to let it go because I knew that she wouldn't go so far as to _kill_ Emily, but I didn't think you would actually _believe_ that Spencer was behind it!"

Aria just stared at him, her round eyes somehow even rounder, and then collapsed backward onto the bed with a groan. "Do you realize that I just freakin _gave it_ to Spencer because I thought that she was on the opposing side all along? She's never going to forgive me!"

Jason, in a show of strength, took Aria's arm and pulled her fully back up into a sitting position. "She will forgive you, I know she will. If anything, she just wants you back in her life I'm sure."

Aria put her fingers to her temples. "I just… feel terrible."

"Well don't, okay?" he assured as he gently rubbed her knee. Aria looked into his kind eyes, and it was obvious to her that he still had feelings for her. She felt like she was almost _using_ him for information, but she needed answers. Also, she had to admit, she really did miss Jason.

She rested her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands together in front of her face. "If it wasn't Spencer… then who did that to Emily? Mona?"

Jason looked out the window nervously, but Aria wasn't having it. "Jason, you _just said_ that the team members don't come around here! Just tell me who it was!"

Jason turned back to Aria and said the last thing she expected to hear. "Toby."

"_WHAT?!_"

Aria was now standing, backing away from the bed, in total and complete shock. "But Toby's d-d-dead."

"That was a hoax, too," Jason said, standing up as well. "It was Mona's idea, to try to crack Spencer."

Aria's eyes went wide. "Tha… that _bitch_!"

But then her eyes whipped to Jason. "All these things happened and so far none of them end with you _stopping_ them!"

"Believe me," he said harshly while stepping forward, "it would be _so much worse_ if I wasn't there. There are only so many things that I can control."

Aria took a minute to let her blood pressure lower, and then sat back on the bed. "So… Toby's alive, and he hurt Emily." She looked up at Jason with eyes that were begging for a way to understand all of this. "So this is real. He _is_ bad."

"It sure looks that way," Jason replied, still standing, "but I couldn't tell you."

"Does Spencer know that he's alive? You know, from the brief amount of time that she was on the A-team?"

"She just worked with Mona," he answered, "so I don't think she has any idea."

Aria put her hands to her face again, racking her brain for anything else that she needed clarification of, until she finally landed on something. "The NAT club."

Jason's ears perked up at this, and he sat back down next to her, giving her his full attention.

"Just… how does the club connect back to all of this?"

"Well," he began, "it was really just us being stupid, horny high school kids. It was Ian's idea, and Garrett and I just kinda tagged along. He got videos of Jenna and Toby, you five…"

"I get it," Aria said, putting her hand up to signal for him to stop talking. She already had to deal with one pervert in her life; she didn't want to know the details on three more.

"But then Jenna started dating Garrett, and she told him the truth about how you guys blinded her… or I guess maybe just Ali blinded her," he corrected himself quickly. "And soon she had manipulated the club into getting back at Ali for that."

"That's so… Jenna," Aria said incredulously, and it was completely true. Jenna was so good at manipulating people that it was no wonder Alison, the _queen_ of manipulating people, hated her.

"Part of me thinks that she ran away with the baby because she didn't want the guys in the club to find out about it," Jason reasoned. "If they did, who knows what kind of footage they could get on her?"

"God, that's so sick," Aria scoffed. This entire situation made her want to throw up. _Again_. The worst part, though, was as much as she wanted to blame this whole thing on the NAT club, she knew that all roads led back to her father.

She knew that this was still all because of her, no matter who tried to convince her of otherwise.

And speaking of her and her father…

"Jason," she deadpanned, facing him fully now, "you can't avoid this forever. I _need_ for you to tell me where Ali is. Do you know?"

He just sighed and looked to the wall. "I do."

She looked at him expectantly, but he was still clearly hesitant. "Aria, if I tell you where she is, I know you're going to go after her, and you can't! It's way too dangerous!"

"This entire _thing_ is dangerous, Jason!" she hollered in his face. "But it needs to _stop_! And we're not going to get anywhere if we just stand in a circle while she watches over us from wherever the hell she is!"

Jason finally turned his head toward her, and he could see the desperation in her eyes. She was going to break, he just knew it. "Please," she whispered, "I don't care what happens. I _need_ to see Ali. I need to talk to her about this entire thing and…" she bowed her head. "I need to find out what I need to do for her to keep my friends safe."

"ARIA!" he shouted, standing up now. "You can't do that! She… she could kill you!"

"She could," Aria said emotionlessly, "or she could not. I won't know until I find out, now will I?"

Jason just stood there, not knowing what to say. He had to figure out how he could hold off on this information for just a little longer. Anything to keep her safe.

Aria noticed that he was hesitant, so she tried to move on to a different question. "Holding off on that... what do you know about the child?"

Jason noticed that her expression had changed from one of desperation to one of _devastation_. He knew he had to dance around this subject, so he got down to his knees and took her hands in his. "She's a little girl. She'll be turning 2 soon. And…" As he tried to finish his sentence, he let out a shaky breath. "And her name is Clara."

Aria could feel her eyes well up with tears. It all felt so _wrong_. The thought of a little girl should not disgust her in this way.

"Does… does she look like Ali?"

His eyes welled up with tears too. "I think she got lucky… she takes more after Ali than your dad."

"Yeah… that's good."

But it was far from good. This little girl was _living proof_ of what Aria's father had done, and Ali had to raise her. She had to watch the little girl grow up, and be constantly reminded of that dreadful day that Byron had violated her, with just one look into those identical blue eyes.

"I can see why Ali would come after me," Aria whispered out loud, and suddenly the tears fell. Jason reached up and gently wiped the tears as they flowed down her cheeks, and with one look at his caring face, Aria broke down. She let her angry façade diminish completely as she continued to cry like a lost little girl, and Jason immediately got up from the ground and pulled her into a hug, which she gratefully accepted. He wanted to do so much more to make the tears go away, to see her happy again, but at the moment Jason could only hold her tightly and make a promise that he would end this for her.

It was a promise that he wanted to keep, but right now he wasn't so sure that was going to happen.


	17. Chapter 17

**Alright guys, another chapter! Which means y'all reviewed! Also, I feel like I haven't been giving credit to those who have always been so sweet and never fail to keep reviewing and saying the sweetest things about the story and me as a writer. So shout out to Sgdp1261, Forever Courage, Doyon66, Ktime, ShadowsOnTheMoon, and anyone that I missed! You guys are great, and you all are! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, it means a lot :)**

**Alright, so this is KIND OF a filler chapter, but it comes up again later, so just bare with me. Don't forget to send in your reviews!**

* * *

Ella sat down on the couch in her apartment with her feet under her as she cradled a glass of wine in her hand. She was growing worried; Aria and Spencer had left a while ago, but neither of them had returned or answered her calls. _Well, as long as they have each other they should be fine_, Ella tried to reassure herself. However, it didn't seem to be working.

She was about to turn on the TV when her phone rang. She held it up, and was surprised, and a little angry, to see that it was Byron.

She knew Aria had gone to talk to him, so this couldn't necessarily be good. She pressed the "talk" button and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Ella," Byron breathed, sounding troubled. This didn't affect her, however. She was far too furious to take his emotions into consideration.

"What do you want, Byron?" she scowled, and could hear him sighing on the other end.

"Did Aria tell you-"

"Of _course_ Aria told me," she growled, "she wouldn't keep anything as disgusting as this from me! How could you, Byron? It was bad enough when you went after a grad student, but a CHILD?"

"Ella-"

"And do you realize how this is affecting your daughter? She is _heartbroken_, Byron, she hasn't eaten or slept in days!"

"ELLA-"

"She actually used to look up to you," Ella sneered, "when she was younger. She had such an admirable relationship with you. How could you _ruin_ that?"

"It was a mistake!" he cried into the phone.

"Clearly!"

"Alison was trying to break apart my family, and I couldn't allow her to do that!"

"Well, clearly she didn't _need_ to because as far as I know you and Aria were _not_ on good terms by then because of what you made her do," Ella ranted, "and even so, your actions were far from the answer! To do that to a _child_?"

"Ella, listen-"

"And get her _pregnant_? This is like something out of an 80s movie! What is wrong with you Byron?"

There was silence, and Ella couldn't understand why. "Byron? Are you still there? _Byron!_"

"Did… did you just say she was pregnant?"

"_Yes_ she was pregnant. And she either got an abortion or died while pregnant. But both scenarios are _awful_!"

"No," Byron stuttered, "N-n-no, she couldn't have gotten an abortion because I didn't pay the rest of her blackmail…"

"What? Byron, what are you saying?"

"Oh god," he stammered, and Ella thought she could hear him putting his face in his hands, "oh _god_!"

"Byron-"

"FUCK NO!"

"_Byron, what is going on?_"

Byron took a few short breaths, before explaining. "Ella, Alison had the baby. I know she did."

Ella gasped. "B-b-but that's impossible, she wouldn't be at 9 months by then."

"She wouldn't have to be," he stated before gulping loudly. "Ella, Aria let it slip that Alison is alive. I don't know how, I don't know where, but she's alive. Alive and with that child."

* * *

Emily slowly felt herself regaining consciousness, and opened her eyes. She could hear the consistent _beep_ of the heart monitor, and she looked around to see that she was in a hospital room.

_What the hell happened?_

"Hey, you're awake!" she heard a familiar voice say softly. She turned her head to the side to see that it was Hanna walking toward her. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Emily answered honestly. "What… what happened? Why am I here?"

Hanna's blue eyes widened. "You don't remember what happened?!"

"No…" Emily said sleepily as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Tell me."

Hanna looked conflicted as she chewed her lip thoughtfully. Finally, she spoke up. "I don't know what happened to you either."

"_What?_" Now Emily's eyes were as wide as Hanna's. "How could you not know? How did I get here?"

"All I know is that A did this to you," Hanna deadpanned. "She sent me a text to rub it in my face. This…" Hanna swallowed loudly before continuing. "This is revenge on me for standing up to Spencer. Spencer did this to you."

Emily could feel tears at the front of her eyes. "No… no it can't be Hanna you've got it wrong."

"No I don't!" Hanna persisted. "Spencer is on the A-team! She always was!"

Emily put her head in her hands. "This can't be happening."

Hanna kneeled down next to Emily's bed. "Just… rack your brain or something! Try to remember. Did you see Spencer? Was she wearing a hoodie? What did she-"

"Hanna!" Emily interrupted in frustration. "I'm not going to remember anything if you keep _pestering_ me!"

"Right," Hanna said while sitting back on her knees, "sorry."

Emily sat there in her hospital bed, trying with all her might to remember how she got there. But nothing came. She felt herself start to cry. "Hanna, I can't. I don't remember any of it. I don't know how I got here!"

"Emily, it's okay," Hanna said comfortingly, "it'll come to you. Just calm down, okay?"

Emily took a few deep breaths before finally reaching _some_ form of relaxation. As she was just starting to calm down completely, a male nurse entered the room with a clipboard in hand.

"I see you're awake, Miss Fields," the nurse said with a smile. Emily returned the smile, but she noticed something off about this nurse. She couldn't put her finger on it, though.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm up."

The nurse went on to talk to Emily about her symptoms, what they were going to do to help her get better, and other procedural stuff, but Emily was not listening; she was too busy studying this man's features. He had mahogany brown hair that stuck out slightly at the back of his head, and his skin was flawlessly smooth and tan. What did she recognize about him?

Then she saw it.

As the male nurse finished talking, he flashed Emily one last smile before walking out the door, clipboard in hand. And with that smile, Emily saw it.

The man had a pair of possibly the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

Ever seen since…

"Emily, are you okay?" Hanna asked, concerned. "You look kinda…"

"I know what happened," Emily whispered, and it all came back to her. The car that came out of nowhere, the scream that left her mouth, the face she saw through the window of the car.

The eyes.

"It wasn't Spencer who hurt me," she said finally.

"What? No, of course it was!" Hanna said persistently. "Aria even said that by the time you were hurt, Spencer was not with her. It's all laid out in black and white, Em!"

"But it's _not_!" Emily declared. "I know what I saw, and it was _not_ Spencer!"

Hanna was taken aback by Emily's definitive tone, but then pulled herself together so that she could hear Emily's reasoning. "What did you see, then?"

"I saw…" Emily started, but then paused as her breathing quickened. Her heart monitor was racing, and Hanna stood up in panic. _What should I do_?

She then saw the morphine drip next to Emily, and she raced over and pressed the button. Emily's heart rate immediately slowed, and Hanna could see the unnerved expression on Emily's face physically disappear.

"Thanks," Emily muttered, but Hanna was done playing around.

"Thank me all you want later. Just… _please_, tell me what you saw."

Emily looked slowly over to Hanna. "I saw… a car."

Hanna gasped. "A car ran you over?"

"I guess," Emily shrugged, like it was no big deal, "but that's not the worst part."

She propped herself up into a sitting position, with difficulty, and leaned toward Hanna.

"It wasn't Spencer who ran me over. It was Toby."

And with that, the morphine kicked in, and Emily collapsed into a catatonic state at the edge of the bed, leaving Hanna even more shocked and confused than before.


	18. Chapter 18

**You guys are literally too sweet! For those of you who are asking if I'm a PLL writer in disguise (haha LOVE that) I promise I'm not, but thank you so much anyway! Literally, all of your comments bring a smile to my face, you're the best! These are all just things that I really REALLY want to happen in the show/what I think could legitimately be true. As for how it ties together, I literally have no idea. I'm kind of a processer/over-analyzer so... yeah. Major dork right here :P**

**Now for the sucky part: I'm leaving to go out of town on Wednesday, so I won't be able to post more chapters until around Saturday or Sunday. I'll try to fit in as many as I can over the next couple of days though! In the meantime, here's a nice SPOBY chapter for you, and next chapter, get ready because... SPARIA REUNION!**

**So lot's of exciting things happening. Enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

Spencer slowly opened her eyes, and was met by the sound of highway traffic. _What the hell?_

She then realized that she was in the passenger seat of a car, and that it was pitch black outside. She looked over to see who was driving, but their face was concealed with a black hood.

"Who are you?" she asked, both terror and anger evident in her voice. The person in the hoodie slowly started to pull the car over onto the side of the road, and, once it was fully parked, turned to Spencer.

It was pitch black, but she could still make out that pale face and those blue eyes that she knew like the back of her hand.

"Toby," she whispered, and then, after a few seconds, all of her weakness vanished. She lunged at him with all of the strength she had, knocking into the steering wheel and honking the horn on accident about a dozen times in the process. She punched him and kneed him as he tried his best to fight her off without hurting her.

"Spencer! Stop!"

"You _rat bastard_!"

"SPENCER!"

He finally managed to throw her off of him, and into the passenger seat once more. She yelped slightly, but the damage to her was nothing compared to the damage done to him. She had given him a bloody lip _and_ nose.

"Jesus, Spencer, you just beat the shit out of me!" he screeched as he tried to wipe the blood off of his cheek.

"That was the _point_!" she screamed. "Why are you behind this?! Why… why are you ALIVE?!"

"Spencer, that was just some sick joke that Mona was playing to get to you!" he screamed back. "I was not a part of that!"

"But you still _knew_ about it, obviously! If you were alive all this time, and still a part of the A-team, I _know_ you saw me! I know you saw how much _pain_ I was in! And you did _NOTHING!_"

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "I should've fought for you."

"But then again, why should you?" she sneered coldly. "I keep forgetting, you never cared about me at all."

"That's a lie!"

"Don't even try that crap on me!" she spat. "You're not gonna fool me that easily, Toby. I know who you are now."

"No you don't! You just think you do! I love you, Spencer! I know you don't believe it, but I really, truly do!"

Spencer stopped in her tracks. That was impossible. If he was a part of all of this, how could he love her?

Toby forcefully put his head to the steering wheel and took a few deep breaths. He then looked up to Spencer again, his very light features contrasting majorly with the crimson red blood spewing from his nose.

"I first joined this thing when I got arrested," he confessed as he reached for a box of tissues in the back seat to clean his face up. "I thought Emily was the one who turned me in, and… I was mad. I blamed you girls for everything that went wrong in my life; Juvi, my reputation, all of it. But it wasn't truly you… it was Ali all along. _She's _the one who convinced me to take the fall for you guys in the first place, and... I was still incredibly angry about it."

"So you're in this for real?" Spencer squeaked out.

"I was at first," he admitted, continuing to blot his nose and lip, "but things changed. I had to hang out with you on assignment-"

"On _assignment_?!" she interrupted, infuriated. "So that whole thing at the motel. That was a lie? That was just you _taking orders_?!"

"Let me finish!" he pleaded. Spencer had a lot more that she wanted to say- she had envisioned this confrontation in her mind for ages- but she retreated. "Fine. Go ahead."

"That was me taking orders," he continued, "but I was having a genuinely good time, and I really did start to develop feelings for you. And I still do have those feelings!"

"Then why are you still working with them? Why are you still _hurting us?!_"

"Because I already tried to get out of it, but I can't!" he shouted. "I tried to back out, but I'm in too deep. I have to keep helping her, or else she'll get suspicious."

"Who? ALI?"

Toby nodded his head. "I didn't know when I joined that she was in charge. If I did, I never would've joined in the first place."

Spencer was still trying to wrap her head around the irony of the situation. Toby and Mona were both working to try to torture Spencer and her friends because they blamed the torture they received from Alison on the girls, and yet somehow, Alison, the whole reason they joined in the first place, was leading this torture?

_Damn_.

"Since I couldn't back out, I tried to find a way to lessen the torment," he continued. "But she caught on to it. That's why I got thrown off of the scaffolding."

Spencer held her breath at the memory; how scared and saddened she was to hear that Toby was in the hospital, and how devastated she was when she had to use Emily to break up with him by saying something that wasn't entirely true.

She shook these thoughts away, however, as she remained attentive to the current situation.

"So… you've been hurting _us_ to save your _own ass_?"

"What choice did I have Spencer? I _tried_!"

"You tried to kill Hanna in a room full of mannequins, you ran over Emily with a car…"

"I could've just _left_ Emily on the road, but I _didn't_! How do you think she got to the hospital, Spencer? Because I _took_ her there!"

Spencer paused. He had a point, but she was still going strong.

"I even bet it was _you_ who tried to throw Aria off of that train!"

"That wasn't me!" he insisted.

"Then who was it?" Spencer could still remember Aria shaking in Spencer's arms as she recalled how she heard the voice of a man and a woman trying to throw her off of the train. She already knew that the woman was Alison; who was the man?

Toby, with his face now clear of dried blood, cast his eyes downward. "It… it was Jason DiLaurentis."

"_Jason_? But… but _why_? He _loves_ Aria!" Spencer gasped. "And… I thought he cared about me, too."

"Maybe he still does," Toby suggested, causing Spencer to look at him funny. "All I know is that he wasn't a part of it before the incident on the train, but then after that he suddenly wanted in. I never really thought his heart was in it, just like mine wasn't after I fell in love with you!"

_After I fell in love with you_. Spencer wanted to believe this, but there was so much going on in her head right now that she ran right past it. "So… you think Jason was infiltrating it? _Is_ infiltrating it?"

Toby just sighed as he put his keys back into the ignition and started down the road again. Spencer had to blink twice before she realized what just happened.

"Toby! There's still so much that you haven't told me!"

"I'll tell you in a second," he said while keeping his eyes firmly on the road. "I'm taking you somewhere safe."

He continued down the road until he reached a motel off the side of the road; it was the same motel, Spencer recalled, that was home to the A-team lair they had discovered last year. The Lost Woods Resort.

"Why are we here?" she asked in a quivering voice, as she still wasn't entirely sure she could trust him.

"Don't be afraid of me," he said genuinely as he turned to her once more. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

He pulled into a parking space, and was about to open his car door when something caught his eye.

"Whose car is that?"

Spencer looked to her left, on Toby's side of the car, and immediately saw what he was looking at.

"Is that _Jason's_ car?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Ehh who am I kidding. I had to post this chapter now I couldn't contain myself. Enjoy, and REVIEW!**

* * *

Aria slowly began to open her eyes, and was disoriented by her surroundings. She looked up to the ceiling to find a vintage wooden fan hovering over her, and looked to the ground to find that the carpet was brownish-green with a floral pattern to it. _Where am I?_ she thought.

She suddenly gasped when she found a pair of affectionate green eyes staring down at her. She immediately removed her head from Jason's lap and sat up.

"Don't be scared!" Jason said abruptly. "You're safe, okay?"

It was all coming back to her now; coming to this hotel with Jason, him telling her everything, including…

The child.

Clara.

"Oh my god," she whispered, "please tell me I dreamed all of that."

"I wish I could," he said honestly, "but it's real. You… kinda cried until you fell asleep."

"Yeah," she said, almost bashfully, "that… seems to have been happening a lot lately."

There was a curt knock on the door, and both Jason and Aria froze. She looked to him, afraid, but he gave her a firm pat on the shoulder before getting up to answer the door.

Aria remained on the bed, but she heard the familiar sound of crutches making their way into the room and looked up.

Spencer.

"Aria?" Spencer asked, clearly surprised that she was here with Jason, as well as a little scared since she thought Aria was still mad at her. She was still wearing her black hoodie, but Aria ignored this because she knew for sure now that Spencer was innocent. Spencer was her friend all along. Spencer would never try to hurt Aria, or Emily, or _anyone_.

"Spencer," Aria whispered hopefully, and immediately ran up to her and engulfed her into a hug. Tears ran down both of their faces as they embraced each other. Aria helped Spencer limp over to the bed, where they sat down and continued to cry into each other's arms.

"I'm so, so sorry I didn't believe you," Aria cried. "It was a huge mistake. Y-you were there for me all along, and I… I…"

"Aria, it's okay, I promise," Spencer choked out as she continued to cry as well. "I'm just glad I have you back. I meant it when I said in the hospital on the night of the fire that I didn't want to lose you. I can't have you leaving me, I'll have nothing left!"

Aria reached over and wiped a tear off of her best friend's cheek. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Spencer smiled widely and hugged Aria tightly, and Aria was completely oblivious to everything else surrounding her, including Toby, who she still thought was bad, now entering the room with a partially swollen lip. But suddenly their exchange was interrupted.

"Well, looks like that didn't work."

Spencer and Aria looked up to find Mona, clad in the same black hoodie that Spencer was wearing, only with Mona the hood was up to cast an ominous shadow over her face. Spencer and Aria couldn't just feel goose bumps rising on their own arms, but also on each other's arms.

In one breath, Aria rushed to her feet and hurled her tiny body at _Mona's_ tiny body. She smashed Mona against the wall with all her might, and Mona let out a small squeak of surprise.

"Have you _forgotten_ what we talked about last time we were in this position?" Aria growled. "You were going to _stay away from us_, remember?"

"Get her off of me!" Mona shouted while squirming, but Aria was running on enough adrenaline to hold someone twice her size down, and _especially_ someone as little as Mona. However, she was pried away easily when Jason and Toby rushed over and pulled a thrashing Aria off of Mona, who was brushing herself off as though Aria had simply scratched her.

Spencer remained on the bed, shocked, and Mona glanced over at Aria condescendingly.

"And to think this isn't the first time this has happened," Mona said with a click of her tongue and a sideways glance toward Spencer. "Clearly you bitches are perfect for each other."

"Why are you here, Mona?" Aria barked, still trying her hardest to get out of Jason and Toby's strong hold. "You _ruined my life_! Don't you get that? You ruined _my_ life and _Spencer's_ life! _All_ of our lives! I could… _I could KILL you!_"

Spencer gasped as she watched Aria flail around, trying to lunge at Mona again. She knew that Aria was strong, inside and out, but she had never seen Aria lash out on someone like this.

_I think this whole thing really has changed her_, Spencer thought grimly.

Toby and Jason finally managed to hold Aria down completely. She was on the floor now, breathless, staring viciously at Mona with vision that was blurred from her tears. Mona just stood there, prime and proper, looking down at Aria.

"First of all, you should really keep track of your threats," she said, "because I specifically remember you only saying that if Spencer didn't get out of _Radley_ that you would do something to me. And she is."

"I'm not playing games, Mona," Aria whispered threateningly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, that leads me to second of all," Mona said, and suddenly her face changed. It appeared softer, friendlier. "I'm on your side now."

"_WHAT?!_" everyone in the room exclaimed.

There was silence, until Spencer spoke up. "That's _bullshit_!"

"I don't want to work for Alison anymore, can't you understand that?" Mona pleaded. "I'm just as willing as you all are to stop her. She ruined my life _just_ as much as she ruined yours."

"Doubtful," Spencer said with an eye roll, but she understood where Mona was coming from. Alison was terrible to Mona, all the way up until the point that she "disappeared".

"Just listen, okay?" Mona said, facing Spencer now. "If you will let me, I'll help you guys stop Alison. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll help you end this."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Aria spoke up.

Mona thought about this, and then simply shrugged. "I guess you don't. You're just gonna have to."

"No way," Spencer said, now standing up, crutches in hand. "Leave, Mona. _Now_."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I can _help_ you?" Mona said loudly. "I've been on this team the longest, I can give you the answers you've been looking for! If I walk out that door, there's no turning back. I'm officially against you again if that's what you really want."

Again, silence. Until Aria spoke up again. "What made you decide now that this is what you want?"

Mona swallowed, and then pulled her hood back as she stepped into the light. Her almond eyes were shining with regret for all that she had done, and fear for what would come next.

But was it enough for them to be able to trust her?

"When I found out it was Alison, I did whatever I could to gain her respect," Mona began, "but it took me until now to realize… I'll never gain it."

Mona continued to step forward cautiously, and with each step, the fear in her eyes became more prominent.

"She was playing me… she was _always_ playing me. Even when I went after Spencer, even when I revealed who I was and got put in Radley so that you girls could be fooled into thinking that you were actually safe, even when I did everything she asked me to do _and more_, she was still playing me. Using me. Making me bow down to her in the same way I bowed down to her in junior high… and she didn't even have to try this time. She never had to. And I don't want that anymore. I don't want her to have any kind of power over me." Mona then started shaking and looked directly at Aria. "She never cared about me. All she ever cared about was _you_. Going after you. She would do anything to see you _dead_ and… if she had to manipulate me to get to you, then that's what she'll do."

Aria's face drained of all color until it was practically transparent. "See me… dead? So she's still after me?"

Mona nodded her head as the tears silently fell. "She has something big planned… she won't tell me what it is, but… she's confident that it'll work this time."

Aria looked over to Spencer, then back at Mona. "Do you know if she's going to try to hurt _them_?"

Mona shook her head. "I think that's over… I think she's officially done playing games. It's your turn now."

Aria squeaked in fear, her doe eyes wide, and Spencer limped forward on her crutches, trying to process it all. "Well, Mona… that's a lot of information."

"It's all true," Mona said defensively, "you have to believe me. Ever since she revealed herself to me, she tells me everything. You should _see_ the way she talks about Aria. It's like she's going to swoop in on her like she's her _prey_ or something. She's not holding back on anything now!"

"So what, you think Alison really will kill her?" Spencer asked skeptically.

"That was her plan all along!" Mona said manifestly. "She already said that in the fire, didn't she? As soon as Aria dies, Alison's done! She'll leave everyone alone."

"And Aria dying is the only way for that to happen?" Spencer shrieked.

"That's great, guys," Aria said sardonically, "just keep talking about me like I'm not here. I really appreciate it!"

Mona ignored Aria's retort as she narrowed her eyes at Spencer. "That all may be true, but trust me. Alison might have narrowed her target specifically to Aria, but _you_ could somehow manage to get in her way. She could still hurt you, Spencer, as well as Hanna and Emily. She doesn't care about the number of eggs she has to break. She just cares about the omelet that is the end result."

Aria wiped the tears from her eyes and managed to stand up. "Well, that's not going to happen," she said determinedly. "I don't know what she's planning, but when she comes, I'll be ready. As far as I'm concerned, she won't lay a _finger_ on any of you. I'll make sure of that."

"Aria, it's not gonna be that easy," Spencer reasoned. "You saw the way Alison beat you up in the fire, you're not gonna be able to take her on your own… no offense," she quickly added upon seeing Aria's appalled expression.

"Don't forget, you won't be able to face her without me," Mona spoke up, and all eyes were back to her. "Aria getting killed doesn't have to be the only way this thing ends. It doesn't have to end with _anybody_ getting killed! We can still figure out a way to stop Alison before she hurts anyone else."

Mona then lowered her eyes shyly. "So… do you trust me?"

Aria and Spencer thought about this for a minute as Jason and Toby stood by, wondering if it would be appropriate for them to intervene. Finally, Aria folded. "Fine, Mona."

"We trust you," Spencer piped in. "But I swear to God if you betray us-"

"I _won't_," Mona persisted.

"Neither will I."

It was Toby that said this. Aria turned around and finally recognized his presence. She slowly backed away. "Oh my god…"

"Woooww, it's no wonder that it's been so easy to mess with you guys for the past 2 years," Mona said sarcastically, rolling her eyes without hesitation. "You _really_ never noticed he was there all this time?"

"See, it's when you say things like that that we question whether we should trust you or not," Spencer snapped, causing Mona to only shrug her shoulders and respond with, "Just saying!"

"Look, you don't need to be afraid of me," Toby said sincerely to Aria, and then he turned his attention to Spencer. "None of you do. I'm on your side. I wasn't able to take down Alison before, but… maybe with a little help I finally can."

He slowly started to walk toward Spencer, who was staring at him blankly. "Will you take me back? Do you forgive me?"

Spencer bit down on her lip. She still wasn't sure if she forgave him. He had been playing her for such a long time. And as for taking him back… what about Wren? She still wasn't sure whom she loved. She looked up at him finally.

"No," she said quietly, "but I do trust you."

He paused for a moment, but then decided that if this was all he was going to get, then it was enough. "Thank you," he said, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Uhh, hate to interrupt," Aria said awkwardly in the background, "but same rules that apply to Mona apply to you. If you go against us-"

"I got it," Toby said, his hands up in the air in surrender, "and I won't. That's a promise that I'll keep."

"So this is it," Jason spoke up for the first time since Spencer, Toby, and Mona had arrived. "We find out what we need from Ali, and what she's going to do to Aria, and then we take her down."

Everyone suddenly turned to Jason. "T-take her down?" Aria stammered. "Jason… are you actually considering doing something bad to your sister?" _Or that little girl?_ she thought, but didn't say out loud.

"I don't know," he said with a small shake of his head, "but I'll do whatever it takes to end this for you." As he said it, he looked straight at Aria, and she could tell that he meant it.

"Alright," Spencer said finally. "So you guys will let us know when you find out what she has in store?"

"We will," Toby responded, "and together, we'll come up with something."

"For the first time," Aria said incredulously, "we'll be one step ahead of her."

"For the first time," Mona said as she looked out of the window of the motel room, "I think this can finally be over."

* * *

**So as I mentioned before, I'm a huge geek, so I just realized there are a LOT of Harry Potter references scattered through this story. Mainly from the Prisoner of Azkaban, but also one theme from The Deathly Hallows. They're subtle, but see if you can guess them :) Hint: one of the ones from Prisoner of Azkaban is in ****_italics_**** in this chapter.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi you guys! I got a stream of reviews between yesterday and today, and you all are SO SWEET! Thank you so much for the kind words, without them I don't think this story would be where it is today! I might've just stopped at them escaping the fire and left it at that! But you all have been so encouraging to me as a writer, and I really appreciate that :) also you all seem to share my love of Sparia, so I automatically love all of you anyway!**

**Unfortunately, this will be my last chapter until next week since I'm leaving tomorrow :( BUT enjoy this chapter while you can, and don't forget to review! AND leave your guesses for any Harry Potter references/quotes/parallels you might see :)**

* * *

"I'm telling you, I'm fine over here," Mike told his sister over the phone.

"No, you're not," Aria said, rolling her eyes, "you just don't wanna be around your screwed up family, and I really can't blame you! But I don't think you should be burdening Louis by continuing to stay there."

"He's cool with it!"

"Mike," Aria said sternly, "please come to the apartment. I miss you. _Mom_ misses you, at least do it for her!"

Spencer laughed as she looked over the kitchen counter in her house, where she was making coffee, at Aria, as she bickered with her brother over the phone. It was about a week after the meeting at the motel, and Spencer's ankle had finally healed enough for her to no longer have to be on crutches. They were finally back at school, and Aria had put Spencer on strict measures for the past week so that her ankle could heal, including keeping it propped up at all times, even if that meant getting permission from a teacher to prop it up on a desk or chair, and not _moving_ from one specific spot whenever they were home unless absolutely necessary. It was annoying for Spencer, but it had worked wonders, which meant that Spencer no longer had to stay with Aria and her mom.

She supposed it was a good thing, but Spencer missed Aria. She saw her at school every day, but she always felt lonely whenever she had to go home to her empty house where no one paid attention to her, even when Aria insisted on driving her home every day to not put any more strain on her ankle. Aria was here now, though, in Spencer's dimly lit kitchen, and no one else was in the house except for the two best friends, which was perfectly fine with both of them.

"You promise?" Spencer heard Aria say into the phone. Aria listened for a response, and then sighed in relief. "_Thank_ you. Okay, so I'll see you for dinner? Great, don't forget anything! Love you!" She then hung up.

"You convinced him?" Spencer asked as she slid a mug of coffee to Aria, who proudly grinned and nodded her head.

Spencer was impressed. "_How_? He can't even see that 'convincing face' you make!"

Aria just gave Spencer a knowing look. "Maybe because this 'convincing face' you speak of doesn't exist?"

"Of _course_ it exists," Spencer said jokingly, "and you know it!" Spencer then proceeded to widen her brown eyes cutely in the same way Aria always did.

At this, Aria just rolled her eyes playfully and sipped her coffee. Spencer knew how Aria liked it, so she had put in just enough sugar and milk for her, unlike Jason. "Whatever. I'm starving, do you have anything to eat?"

"Yeah," Spencer said with a smile as she opened the pantry next to the fridge. She grabbed a small bag of chips and tossed it to Aria, who caught it in midair and greedily opened it. Spencer watched cautiously as Aria munched on the chips. "How have you been? You seem… better. Happier."

And it was true. Ever since the night at the Lost Woods Resort, Aria had finally begun to recover. She was back to eating and sleeping, so her face no longer looked so gaunt and pale. And she was back to laughing and smiling again now that she had more energy _from_ eating and sleeping.

Aria paused while halfway through eating a chip, and then put it down. "I don't know, I guess I really am happier now that I know that this thing could be over soon."

Spencer wasn't so sure about that, but she didn't want to say it out loud; the last thing she wanted was to scare Aria again. They hadn't gotten any kind of answer back from Toby, Mona, _or_ Jason on what Ali could be planning, and it was a little suspicious. _I'm just being paranoid on whether I can still trust them or not_, Spencer tried to convince herself. _They're on our side. They won't betray us_.

"Although," Aria began again, "I'm kinda weirded out by my mom."

"How so?"

"She keeps… looking at me funny," Aria explained, "like there's something she wants to say to me. Have you noticed anything weird with her when you were staying with us?"

"Maybe," Spencer said thoughtfully, "but I think she's just concerned about you."

Aria nodded her head at this, but she was not convinced. She knew her mother's concerned look, and she had grown accustomed to it especially since the night of the fire, but her concerned look had been replaced with a new look that she couldn't figure out. She looked like she was holding something back. Almost… guilty.

"Aria," Spencer said, pulling Aria out of her thoughts. "That phone call earlier… have you told him?"

"Told who what?"

"Mike," Spencer elaborated. "Have you told him about… the girl?"

Spencer watched as Aria's face went pale. She knew it was a touchy subject, but she had to know.

"I… no," Aria admitted. "Spence, I can't. You should've seen the way he reacted to learning about my dad. If he knows this, too, it could really upset him."

"But don't you think he deserves to know?" Spencer said compassionately. "You shouldn't have to go through this alone."

"Who says I am?" Aria shrugged. "I've got you, I've got Jason, I've got…" She tried to think of more people, but that was it. She wanted to say Hanna and Emily, but they hadn't spoken since Aria and Spencer had seen them in the hospital. Emily hadn't been at school because she was still recovering in the hospital, and Spencer and Aria tried to avoid Hanna as much as possible at school. They didn't know whether she was still mad at Spencer or not, and Spencer didn't want to take the chance of confronting her about it. And Aria was afraid to talk to Hanna because she was afraid Hanna would bring it up, then try to start a fight with Aria when she defended Spencer.

"You could have him, too," Spencer pointed out, but Aria just shook her head.

"What if A does something to him?" Aria whispered. "I can't risk that. You know I can't. It was bad enough that Mike had to be dragged into this whole mess with my dad, but to involve him with A-"

"Aria, _breathe_," Spencer said once she managed to interrupt. She then leaned forward across the countertop. "A hasn't touched you since the night of the fire."

"How do you know that me telling Mike, or _anyone_ for that matter, isn't going to spark things up again?" Aria challenged.

"This might be a scary thought for you," Spencer said cautiously, "but I really think that Alison is holding back on torturing you so that you won't be expecting it when she delivers the final blow. So I don't think anything you say or do before then is going to affect anything, except maybe have her put her 'big plan' into action sooner."

_Saving the best for last_, Aria thought, practically hearing the words slither menacingly off of Alison's tongue. "Well, that's comforting."

Spencer reached for Aria's hand. "Don't worry, okay? They said that once they found out, they'd tell us. And we'll protect you."

"I want to be able to protect you guys too," Aria said softly. "You heard what Mona said. Ali may just be after me now, but if she has to hurt one of you to get to me then she'll do it."

"We'll protect each other, okay?" Spencer assured, and Aria nodded her head, suddenly determined. Their conversation was interrupted, however, by an abrupt knock on the back door. Before Spencer could go to answer it, she heard it opening, along with a familiar click clacking of heels against the hardwood. Spencer and Aria looked at each other, for they both knew of only one person who would wear heels on a school day.

Hanna walked into the room slowly, and Spencer and Aria surveyed her carefully. "Hanna?"

"Hi, guys," Hanna said cautiously as she continued to step forward. Spencer and Aria awkwardly waved, but remained still, as they were unaware of how to react to the situation.

Hanna sighed, knowing she'd have to be the one to start talking. "So… I owe you an apology, Spencer."

Spencer's posture immediately straightened, as though someone had shot a bolt of lightning up her spine. "You… you do?"

"Yeah," Hanna said apologetically. "Emily woke up. And she remembered. It wasn't you who ran her over. It was-"

"Toby," Spencer interrupted. "Yeah, I know."

"Wait… you know?" Hanna asked alertly. "How?"

"Because… I saw him. _We_ saw him." And with that, Spencer and Aria caught Hanna up to speed on everything that had happened, and everything they had learned, in the past week. Mona and Toby being on their side. Jason infiltrating the team. Alison's child. Everything. With each new piece of information, Hanna's eyes grew wider and wider. She then looked to Aria.

"That's really true about your dad?" she whispered. "And that little girl?"

"Seems like it," Aria said emotionlessly as she stared down at the counter. Hanna walked over to Aria and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, feeling terrible for what she had to go through. She then looked up at Spencer, arms still held tightly around Aria.

"I actually found out about it not being you last week," she confessed, "and it was wrong of me to wait until now to confront you about it."

"Yeah, why didn't you?" Spencer asked, honestly curious.

"I was afraid still," Hanna admitted, "and I had accused you so harshly… I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me the way I refused to forgive you."

"But you did forgive me," Spencer pointed out as she stepped forward from behind the counter. "Isn't this what this is?"

"Yeah, I think so," Hanna said as she unraveled her arms from around Aria.

"Well, then I think I can forgive you," Spencer said with a small smile, and she walked over and embraced Hanna in a long overdue hug. Hanna noticed Aria sitting awkwardly to the side, so she motioned for her to join in, which Aria gratefully did. Together they stood there, the closest the three of them had been in far too long, just enjoying each others' company.

"Ok," Hanna said, muffled by the warm embrace of two of her best friends. "So I'll be sure to fill in Emily on everything you guys just told me, considering I remember all of it. But first…" Her face suddenly turned serious. "What is this plan that Ali has?"

Aria and Spencer looked at each other with panicked expressions before Aria spoke up. "We're still trying to figure that out. But whatever it is, it could end up hurting a lot of people."

"But with three people on the inside," Spencer reasoned, "we might be able to take her down before she takes us down."

"Well, when you _do_ take her down," Hanna began while flashing a mischievous grin, "I want in."


	21. Chapter 21

**Guess who's back?! :D Fortunately for you guys, I was able to do a LOT of writing while I was gone since I had my phone with me, and I'm gonna be able to update more frequently now hopefully! Here's the next chapter, and it's not as action packed as some of the chapters to come, but it does lead to some juicy stuff. AND I was able to incorporate MY favorite male character into it ;) Hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to review!**

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Spencer stepped out of the supermarket and back onto the streets of Rosewood with arms loaded with bags of groceries. Aria had left to go have dinner with her mom and brother, so Spencer decided that, since chances were she wouldn't be having a family get together any time soon, she would get dinner for herself. She had been living on Lean Cuisines for the past week, and she was ready for something different, so she loaded her bags of vegetables and one lone rotisserie chicken into her passenger seat eagerly as she got ready to head home to prepare it all. Just as she was slamming the door and getting ready to circle the car to the driver's side, she heard someone calling her name.

"Spencer!"

She whipped around, and to her surprise, Ezra came running toward her.

"Oh! Hi… Ezra," Spencer said warily, still deciding on whether she should call him by his first name or not.

"I heard about the fire," he said, catching his breath a little. "Are you guys okay? I know it happened a couple weeks ago, but Aria hasn't been answering any of my calls and-"

"Yeah, we're fine now," Spencer nodded her head, before adding, "And she's fine, too."

"She is?" He said, his blue eyes lighting up with relief at the news.

"Well, as fine as she can be," Spencer admitted. "She's healed and everything but… I don't know if she'll be okay for a long time."

Ezra's face fell. "Spencer, what happened? Did it have to do with me? She just broke up with me out of nowhere, and-"

"I know it might seem that way, but it wasn't out of nowhere!" Spencer snapped. "She was doing it to _protect_ you, Ezra. Okay? She loves you so much, and she would do anything to be with you right now, but she can't. For now, you should really just focus on your new family."

Ezra was disoriented for a second. "_Protect_ me? Why-"

"Long story," Spencer cut him off.

At that moment, something in Ezra snapped. He was tired of people keeping secrets from him. He stepped forward and said quietly, "I've got time. _Try me._"

Spencer studied Ezra. He looked so lost, and so desperate for a way to understand everything that was happening. He wanted to protect Aria just as much as she wanted to protect him.

_Aria's going to kill me for this_, Spencer thought to herself, yet she sighed as she pressed the "lock" button on her car keys and turned back to Ezra. "Fine. Let's go."

"Go where?" Ezra asked, confused.

"Somewhere away from here," she answered as she started walking. He followed quickly, still completely lost. "Why do we-"

"Don't question it," she said curtly. "You want answers, I'm gonna give them to you. But it's going to take longer, and it's DEFINITELY going to be riskier, than you might think."

* * *

Aria got out of her car at Louis's house to pick up Mike and take him to the apartment for dinner. She was about to walk up to the door when she heard someone call her name.

"Aria!"

She turned around to see Toby running toward her, and a small part of her felt scared. Did they find out about Ali's plan finally? As much as she wanted to find out more, she was scared for what Ali had planned, as well as for how they were going to take her down. Aria didn't want to die, but she didn't want to hurt Ali either. If she got hurt, who would take care of that little girl?

With all of these thoughts swirling in her head, she could only manage to squeak out, "H-hi, Toby. What... What are you doing here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood," he shrugged. "Taking a walk to clear my head."

"Oh, I see," Aria said, and took note of the fact that he was wearing a plaid button down and jeans, a stark difference from the black hoodie that he was wearing at the motel. Suddenly Toby walked closer and leaned in secretively.

"We haven't found out more yet," he whispered, "but we might be getting closer."

"What has she said?"

"She's not giving away details," he explained, "but she says that she'll let us in on more closer to the day she decides to put it all in action."

Aria shivered at the thought of this. "How are we going to be able to stop her with so little time?" she asked uneasily.

"I don't know," Toby said honestly. "But we'll think of something, okay?"

Aria nodded, and then looked up at Toby, surveying him. She thought of all that Spencer had to go through because of what he did; all that he had put her through. She knew Spencer hadn't forgiven him, but still trusted him with this. And deep down, Aria could see that Spencer still had deep feelings for him. Aria, on the other hand, was still a little shaky about even trusting him.

"Toby," she finally said, and he looked up at the mention of his name.

Aria took a deep breath, then began. "You claim to be on our side now, and if that's true I'm really glad that you're trying to help. But you need to understand that Spencer is still really hurting after what you did."

Toby nodded. "I know. I've never been more sorry about anything in my life. I love her, Aria."

"Well that's great," Aria responded, "but that doesn't change things. If you want her back, you're going to have to do whatever you can to stop this for us." She then shakily took a step forward up to Toby, who towered over her greatly still. "A-and if you even think about hurting her again, I _will_ make you sorry. That's a promise I'll keep. Do you understand me?"

Toby looked down at Aria in shock that she was threatening him like this, but he noticed how scared she was. She was looking up at him with terror in her eyes, and yet she was going out of her way to protect Spencer, despite her fear. That was something he admired, even if he wished she wasn't still afraid of him.

_We both want to protect Spencer_, he thought to himself. _If I want to end this for the both of them, I need to work harder to find out what it is that could hurt them._

After a minute, he nodded his head carefully. "I understand," he said. "I'll prove to you that I'm on your side, okay? I won't let anything hurt you girls again."

Before Aria could respond, Mike walked out of the house, a duffle bag in hand. He stared at Toby suspiciously, as Toby was still known to be "bad news" in Rosewood, but Aria mouthed that it was okay. Mike started to walk down the front steps to the house, and Aria turned back to Toby.

"Well, I better go."

"I'll let you know when I find out more, okay?"

"Thank you," Aria said gratefully. Before she could turn around and walk to her car, she turned around one last time. "I'm... so sorry about what Ali made you do a few years ago. That was completely wrong, and if I had known that she blackmailed you like that-"

"Aria, it's okay," Toby reassured. "It wasn't your fault, or that of any of the girls. I just wish it hadn't taken so long for me to realize it."

Aria chewed on her bottom lip, then looked up at Toby once more. "Spencer loves you, too, you know."

And with that, she walked over to her car, with a confused Mike in the passenger seat, started the engine, and backed out of the driveway. Toby stood there and watched her drive away as he whispered, "I know."

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**You read right ladies and gentlemen. Ezra is OFFICIALLY IN THIS STORY! Which means, you guessed it, EZRIA! Told ya to be patient ;) looks like it pays off after all!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Another chapter for you guys! Also, for those who were curious about the ****_Harry Potter_**** references:**

**"She was my friend!" in chapter 9, is like Harry in ****_The Prisoner of Azkaban_**** when he thought Sirius Black had betrayed his parents: "HE WAS THEIR FRIEND!" Also from that scene, when he's like "Let him come, because when he does, I'm gonna be ready!" and then in the chapter in the motel room with everyone, Aria is like "I don't know what she's planning, but when she comes, I'll be ready."**

**Also: one cannot live while the other survives? Very similar to Alison's whole outlook on everything. She doesn't want to live on this planet anymore unless Aria is no longer living on it with her.**

**VERY subtle, I didn't expect anyone to get them. They weren't intentional, but I just kinda picked them up while reading through some of the chapters. Speaking of chapters, enjoy this one! And don't forget to review!**

* * *

Ezra sat at the park bench across from Spencer, his mouth agape. Spencer had just spilled everything. How A had never left. How Ali was leading everything. How Aria's dad was the reason for all of this happening. How Aria was next in line. Everything.

"I can't believe Aria never told me," Ezra whispered, almost hurt. "I could've helped her!"

"Trust me, it was smart of her," Spencer said. "If she told you, A would've made sure you would never see the sun come up again. She was doing it to protect you."

"Well _I_ should be the one protecting _her_!" Ezra exclaimed, but after noticing Spencer's panicked expression he lowered his voice again. "So now Alison is going after Aria because of what Byron did?"

"Basically," Spencer said sadly. "She's going after Aria, and anyone who tries to get in her way. So anyone is at stake. Even you."

Ezra thought about this. He couldn't believe that Byron could do something so horrible, but he couldn't believe that Alison wanted to take it out on Aria, _his_ Aria, even more. After a minute, Ezra stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Spencer asked, but Ezra just kept walking. He had to find out where Alison was hiding. Maybe he could stop her. Maybe he could reason with her.

Maybe he could take the blame.

* * *

_May 2009_

_Ezra walked out of his English Lit class, feeling confident. His junior year at Hollis College was coming to a close, and he had just turned in his final essay that he had spent hours on. Finally, he could breathe._

_The halls were quiet and empty. It was later in the day, and it was just the professors in their offices, grading the last of their students' assignments. Ezra was only in the school building because he had to check with his professor on a few final touches to his essay, and it turned out that nothing needed to be added. At this Ezra was relieved. He wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to end the year on a good note._

_As these happy thoughts were rolling through Ezra's head, a blood curdling scream was heard all the way at the other end of the hall. Ezra froze, his blood chilling. He spun around, and saw none of the other professors in their offices had heard the scream, for they were too preoccupied to pay attention to what was going on outside of their offices. Suddenly, he heard the scream again, but this time he didn't stand still. He ran in a full on sprint toward the source of the scream._

_When he reached the office at the end of the hall, he heard whispers on the other side of the door. On impulse, he grabbed the door knob, but it was locked. He kept turning and turning, but suddenly the knob loosened. The door opened, and standing behind it was a young girl of no more than 15. Her blonde hair was tangled in a rats nest on top of her head, and her clothes were ripped in various places. She stared at him, tears filling her eyes, but finally she just limped down the hall as fast as she could in her weak state. Ezra stared after her, more confused than ever, until he heard footsteps walking into the doorframe._

_"Is there something I can help you with?" the middle aged professor growled. Frightened, Ezra rapidly shook his head, and then ran in the opposite direction, ignoring the professor's anguished calls at him._

_He ran out of the building, and saw the girl again. He called after her, and she stopped in her tracks and rigidly turned herself around._

_"What just happened?" Ezra asked shakily. "What did that professor do to you?"_

_A tear rolled down the girl's cheek. "Nothing you need to worry about," she whispered. Ezra just shook his head._

_"Maybe not," he said, "but that doesn't mean he has to get away with it. You can always report him, and he'll get in a lot of trouble for what he did."_

_"No," the girl whispered, "I can't do that. It could hurt someone."_

_"That doesn't matter," Ezra interrupted. "He needs to be punished for what he did to you."_

_"I don't expect you to understand," the girl said, and she silently started to walk away. Ezra watched her for a second, but then pulled himself together._

_"Wait!"_

_The girl spun around, then stumbled on herself, eventually keeping her balance unstably._

_"At least tell me your name," Ezra whispered._

_The girl just offered him a weak smile. "Alison." And with that she walked away._

_Ezra stared after her, dazed and hurt and confused. He started to walk back into the building, but then something grabbed onto the back of his grey hoodie. Ezra felt himself lurching backward, and then spun around forcefully. He was suddenly face to face with the same professor that he had seen earlier._

_"Where do you think you're going?" the professor spat. Ezra felt himself crumbling under the man's harsh gaze, but suddenly stood a little straighter. "Into the building. Aren't I allowed in there?"_

_"Not if you're going to tell anyone about what you just saw," the professor growled. "And if someone does find out, I'll know who to look for."_

_With that, the professor let Ezra go and walked back into the building, and Ezra just stood there with eyes widened to their extent and no idea of what to do._

* * *

Looking back, Ezra wished he had done something. At Alison Dilaurentis's funeral, he wondered if it was his fault that she had died. If he had reported Mr. Montgomery like he should have, maybe everything that had happened wouldn't have to happen. Alison would have been treated properly and wouldn't get pregnant.

Alison had a child. A child that was the daughter of Byron Montgomery, and to Aria she was her… half sister? Ezra couldn't believe it. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around his ex-girlfriend and tell her that it would be all right, even if he knew it wouldn't be. Aria was hurting immensely right now, and Ezra just wanted to be there for her. He wanted for her to let him in.

But she wouldn't. He knew she wouldn't. Ezra would have to take actions into his own hands.

So he walked up to his car, got into the driver's seat, and drove to the first place he could think of.


	23. Chapter 23

**Shout out to Sgdp1261, I laughed so hard at your review from the last chapter hahaha. Anyway, new chapter. It's my shortest chapter yet, but the climax of this story is coming soon, so hopefully that'll make up for it. Read and review!**

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Ezra walked up to the door of the apartment, and knocked curtly on it. He waited a few seconds, until Toby Cavanaugh opened the door. His baby blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Mr. Fitz?"

Ezra sighed. "You can call me Ezra, Toby," he said.

"Oh, okay," Toby said, still confused. "Um... come in."

Ezra walked inside, surveying the apartment. He had done a great job with the place, considering that it was originally a ratty old apartment hanging above a coffee shop. Toby closed the door and looked to Ezra. "How'd you know I lived here?"

"I used to tutor Emily downstairs," Ezra explained. "It came up once or twice in conversation."

Toby looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you here?"

Ezra sighed again and took a step toward Toby. "I know about Ali. I know what she's trying to do to Aria, and I'm not about to sit by and watch that happen."

"It's being taken care of," Toby assured as he sat down at the table in front of him. "We're going to stop her before she tries to lay a finger on anyone again."

"That's not good enough for me," Ezra said as he sat down across from Toby. "You need to tell me where she is."

"You have no clue what you're dealing with," Toby frantically whispered. "I can't tell you where she is! I'm sorry, but consider it as for your own good."

"But this isn't about my own good! It's about Aria's own good!" Ezra frantically whispered back. Toby noticed the pleading look in Ezra's soft blue eyes. From what he knew from spying on him while on the team, Ezra's life had been pretty shitty these past few months. He'd been struggling for work, and he'd just found out that he's had a son that hasn't been a part of his life for 7 years. And now, all he wanted, more than anything, was the protect the woman that he loved, and if he couldn't do that Toby was absolutely certain he would crack. And after what happened to Spencer, Toby promised himself that he would not be responsible for anyone's sadness again.

Toby bowed his head. "Okay, I'll tell you."

* * *

"Mom, we're here," Aria called as she entered the apartment with Mike. But when she closed the door and entered the room, she didn't find her mom standing before her. She found someone else.

"We need to talk," her father growled. Aria froze, and Mike stood protectively in front of her while glaring at Byron. "Where's Mom?"

"I'm right here," Ella said while coming out of the bedroom, and Aria and Mike stared at her, their mouths agape.

"You let him into your apartment?" Aria shrieked.

"I had to," Ella whispered. "He told me something that I found... interesting."

"How is Alison alive, Aria?" Byron shouted. "How could you know this? And did she keep that child?"

Aria's blood turned to ice. "What would give you the idea that she's alive?"

"Don't play games, Aria! I'm not stupid. You don't just let something slip like that and then pretend it isn't true! _Where is she_?"

"I don't know!" Aria exclaimed helplessly. "I honestly don't know where she is, okay?" She wanted to get out of the apartment as soon as possible. She couldn't be in the same room with her father. She frantically walked back to the door and reached for the doorknob, but Byron caught up with her and pulled away from the door while ignoring her protests. She snuck a glance at her mom and brother, but they stood still, in complete shock at what was happening before their eyes.

She looked up at him with as much hatred as she could muster. "_Yes_, she's alive, and _yes_ she has a child. A little girl. _You're_ little girl, too. Are you happy? Is this what you wanted when you did that to her? I don't think it is! But it's what you get. You had to go and get a fucking little girl pregnant and-"

"Aria, language!" her mother warned.

"No, Mom!" Aria shouted. "He deserves it! And this affects you, too! He was playing you. He never-"

"Don't say I never loved your mother," Byron shouted back, "because I do!"

"Hah!" Ella said darkly in the background. "Save your love. I'd rather not be involved with it."

"Ella-"

"You heard her," Aria seethed, which caused Byron to squeeze her shoulders tightly, nearly lifting her off of the ground as he said the worst thing that he could possibly say to her.

"You do realize that you and your brother would not _be here_ if I didn't love your mother," Byron growled, "so you better start showing me some respect like you used to."

In the background, Mike gasped, clearly hurt, and something in Aria suddenly snapped at these words. Her father had said a lot of unbelievable things, especially these past few weeks, but something about what he just said struck right to her heart. She managed to yank herself out of her father's grasp. "I stopped showing you respect the minute I realized what a _monster_ you are," she whispered menacingly, and with that she made her great escape. She dashed out of the apartment, away from her horrible father and her stunned mother and brother. She ran out of the apartment, as far and as fast as she could. She ran past her car, past the parking lot, past everything, all the way to the first place she could think of.


	24. Chapter 24

**Alright guys, this is it. This is the chapter where things really start happening! Unfortunately, this story is coming to a close :( There are about 5 chapters left, but no worries, they are all quite long and ACTION PACKED! I'm so excited to be able to share them with you guys, but in the meantime, enjoy this kickstart to the wonderful events ahead. Don't forget to review! I've been getting less and less reviews lately (although Sgdp1261 and Forever Courage never fail to disappoint, so thank you two :)) and it breaks my heart! I really wanna know what you guys think of this story, so please comment on it!**

* * *

Spencer sat at the kitchen counter with her plate of food. She had just given up a bunch of information to Ezra Fitz, the love of Aria's life, and possibly just put him in even more danger. If Ezra got hurt because of Spencer, Aria would never forgive her.

Just as she was about to take a bite of her chicken, she heard a frantic knock on the door. Curious, Spencer got out of her chair and answered the door.

Aria was standing before her, shivering in the harsh cold with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Oh my God, you're freezing," Spencer said as she ushered Aria inside. Aria sat down at the counter as Spencer rushed over to the couch and grabbed a blanket. As she wrapped it around the smaller girl, Aria looked up at her with doe eyes that were glassed over with her tears.

"How'd you get here?" Spencer asked concernedly. She knew Aria couldn't have driven; she was ice cold to the touch, and was shaking as though she had been out in the cold for hours.

"I... I ran," Aria admitted, and before she could say anything else, she broke down. She started sobbing into Spencer's shirt, and Spencer just held her in her strong embrace, trying her best to calm her down. "It's okay. I'm here. It's okay."

Aria sniffled loudly. "M-my dad was at the apartment, and he... he..." She couldn't finish her sentence. The harder she tried to speak, the harder and faster her breathing became.

"He came to the apartment?" Spencer exclaimed, her arms still wrapped around Aria. "Why?!"

"He found out about that little girl," Aria whispered glumly. "His _daughter_."

Spencer winced at the word "daughter", but kept pushing Aria to tell her more about what was wrong. "How did he find out?"

"He figured it out," Aria croaked. "Back when I was so set on telling him everything, I let it slip that she told me about all of it. That she's alive. Now he's probably going to go out and look for her. What if he hurts her, Spence? And makes her more angry? Or what if he does something to that little girl?"

"Breathe, Aria," Spencer instructed, and Aria let out a shaky breath. Spencer let go of Aria and grabbed her shoulders, looking directly into her eyes. "Even if he goes after her, he won't find her. No one knows where she is. Okay?"

"That's not even the worst part," Aria said sadly. "He said that... that I wouldn't even _be here_ if he didn't love my mom. But the worst part is I know he doesn't even love her, so... I shouldn't even be here. I'm just a reminder to my mom of what never was." Aria let out a loud sob as she said this, wrapping the blanket closer around her as she sat there, shaking in her shed tears.

Spencer's heart broke as she wrapped her arms around Aria again. "You can't think like that," she said softly as she rubbed circles along Aria's back. "Your mom loves you so much, and you know it. I don't think she cares about anyone as much as she cares about you and Mike. You're her prized possession."

"But-"

"But nothing," Spencer said while pulling away again. "You are not a burden on your mom, or a reminder of what could have been. You mean nothing but good things to her, and I know that she'd do anything to see you happy. Besides, she has Zach now! She doesn't need a scumbag like your dad."

Aria finally looked up at Spencer and gave a weak smile as she hugged her one more time. "Why do you have to be so smart?"

"It's not a matter of being smart," Spencer said matter-of-factly as she pulled out of Aria's embrace. She affectionately wiped a tear off of Aria's china-doll face. "It's a matter of knowing how to make you feel better."

Aria smiled a little wider now. "Well, you're a seasoned pro at that by now."

Spencer laughed at this, but before the pair could say anything else, the back door opened. They froze in position. _My parents aren't supposed to get in until much later_, Spencer thought nervously. _Who could it be_?

To answer Spencer's question, in walked Mona, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. Spencer and Aria got out of their chairs and slowly backed away. "What's going on?"

"I found out," Mona said slowly. "I know what she's going to do. And we have to move fast."

* * *

_"You asked for me?" Mona said as she walked into the dark room. She was surrounded by computers and pictures of all 4 of the girls. In the center was a swivel chair with the back turned toward Mona, and poking slightly above the top of the chair was a red hood. The chair swiveled around so that the front of it was facing Mona, and sitting in it was a young girl with a head full of blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes full of malice and evil. _

_Alison. _

_"I've learned to like you, Mona," she said as she drew circles with her pointer finger on the arm of the chair. "Of everyone on this team, you've earned my trust the most. You've proven yourself to be the best. And that's why I want to let you in on what I'm about to do."_

_"Is this about your plan to finish Aria?" Mona said in the most monotone voice she could manage. However, inside her mind she was screaming._

_Alison flashed her a toothless smile. "You always were a smart one," she said, and then pulled out of her coat pocket a stack of what looked like photos. She motioned for Mona to come closer, and then swiveled her chair so that she was facing the computer again._

_Mona moved forward as Alison started to lay out each of the photos one by one on the desk. Mona watched as a photo of Spencer, Hanna, and Emily was revealed. But then, Alison laid out more photos: one of Mike, one of Ella, and one of Ezra. There was no photo of Aria._

_"What is this?" Mona asked curiously. Alison looked up at her and smiled that signature Alison smile again._

_"This is the last straw," she smirked. "This is what will make her crack. I don't need to kill her. After this, she'll probably just kill herself."_

_"What are you talking about?" Mona asked, and she couldn't help the quiver that came out of her voice. Alison hummed to herself as she reached into a drawer under the desk and pulled out a shiny black gun. _

_"I'm going to kill everyone that she cares about," she said sinisterly. "Every single one of them. And she'll have nothing left. And it will kill her inside knowing that it was her fault."_

_Mona gasped. "Isn't that a little extreme?"_

_"You say that like you don't even know me," Alison laughed, but Mona persisted._

_"I'm serious," she said. "Killing all of these people? That might be taking it a little far."_

_"Of course it's taking it further than usual," Alison said with a shrug, then spun her chair back around and got up out of it. "Think of it as a grand finale. After this, we'll be done. You'll finally get your revenge for what those girls did to you, and I'll get my revenge on that bitch for what she did to me. It's a win-win!"_

_Mona was impressed with herself for tricking Alison into believing that she was still in this for that very reason, but she continued to argue. "It doesn't feel right," Mona said with a shake of her head, but when she adjusted herself, Alison was looking straight at her with crazed eyes._

_"Are you on this team or not?" she growled, and Mona stood straighter._

_"I am, I am," she said while putting her hands up in surrender. "I'll... I'll be at hand if you need anything to help."_

_"I think I'll take it from here," Alison said, and then she walked toward the door and stood in front of it. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. And finally it's happening. I'm saving the best for last, Mona. And it has never felt so good."_

* * *

After Mona told them of Ali's plan, both Spencer and Aria stood still, paralyzed with fear. "Oh my god," Aria whispered.

"I knew Ali could be a bitch," Spencer whispered, "but this is just... sick."

"How can you be so calm, Spencer?" Aria croaked, suddenly turning to Spencer. "Ali is going to kill you! Because of me!"

"We won't let that happen," Spencer assured, but Aria was far from reassured.

"Mona," she said abruptly as she walked up to Mona, "you have to tell me where Ali is. I have to see her."

"Aria-" Spencer started as Mona exclaimed, "And do what?"

"I don't know," Aria admitted. "I haven't quite figured that out, but I'll think of something, okay?"

"Aria, you don't know what you're dealing with!" Mona shouted. "She's dangerous."

"I don't care," Aria said firmly. "I'm not going to let her win."

"She's going to win if she gets close enough to wrap her hands around your neck!" Spencer shouted.

"She won't!" Aria shouted back. "I can fend her off long enough to reason with her."

"Alison is beyond reason!" Mona snapped.

"Mona," Aria turned back to Mona fiercely. "Please. Just tell me where she is. I need peace of mind. I need to stop her. I'll offer some sort of compromise. I'll do something! I need to see her."

Mona noticed the tears threatening to spill out of Aria's eyes, and finally folded. "Okay. I'll tell you."


	25. Chapter 25

**I couldn't wait. I wanted to get this chapter up because it might just be my favorite one. Enjoy! And again, REVIEW!**

* * *

Spencer drove down the roads of Rosewood late at night all the way down to the high school in the center of town. Apparently, all this time, Alison had been hiding out in the janitors closet in the basement of Rosewood High. The move was so incredibly risky that it was brilliant. Spencer was amazed that she had never figured it out, or at least had never seen her at one point or another. But she guessed that after being in hiding for so long, you get better and better at not being seen.

Aria was in the front seat, nervously wringing her hands, while Hanna and Emily were in the back seat. They had laid out everything that they were going to do before they got in the car, so now they were sitting in an awkward silence as Spencer pulled onto the street where Rosewood High was located.

Emily finally took a deep breath and leaned forward so that her head was right in between the two front seats. "Remember, approach her like a rattle snake. Don't be too quick, unless she jumps you. And if she does, or if anything like that happens, just scream. We'll be positioned near the basement door, and we'll come running. Got it?"

"You guys don't need to come running," Aria said softly. "I'm stronger than I look, and faster! I can take her if I try hard enough, I just need to be able to talk to her and make a compromise-"

"Just say you've got it," Hanna said impatiently. Aria was so _stubborn_ sometimes. Hanna knew she just wanted to protect them, but they wanted to protect her just as much.

Aria sighed and nodded her head. "Yeah, I got it. But..."

"What?" Emily asked curiously.

Aria turned around to look at her. "She's planning on killing you all. I don't think you should be anywhere near her. Mona says she has a gun!"

"We're not leaving you in that building unprotected, Aria!" Hanna said. "She could use that gun on you!"

"Fine," Aria huffed. "Forget I mentioned it."

Hanna reached forward into the front seat and grabbed Aria's hand. "We won't let her hurt you, okay? We'll be fine, and _you'll_ be fine."

Spencer halted to a stop about a block from the school. "Alright, guys. Get out."

Hanna and Emily proceeded to get out of the car, and Aria started to join them, Spencer grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the car. "Not you."

"Spence, c'mon," Aria whined. "We have to go! I don't feel comfortable leaving Hanna and Em alone in that school."

"I'm not worried about them," Spencer said firmly. "They aren't the one who is going to be face to face with the girl who is responsible for our suffering these past two years!"

"We can't just sit around and let her continue with this," Aria said. "This is the_ only_ way that we can take her down."

Spencer sighed and leaned back against her seat. "I know, you're right. Just..." she rolled her head over and looked at Aria. "Be careful, okay?"

Aria noticed the worry in Spencer's eyes, and reached over to envelope her best friend in a big, meaningful hug. "I will. I promise."

Spencer hugged back, and then snuck a kiss onto the top of Aria's head before she proceeded to get out of the car. Once Aria was gone, Spencer let the tears fall. She pressed her forehead to the steering wheel and let out several hiccupy sobs as she cried. She didn't want to break down in front of her friends, but she had a terrible feeling about this. She knew that Alison was supposedly not going after Aria on purpose, but what if she changed her mind the minute Aria walked down those steps? It was too much. Spencer was worried sick.

Spencer pulled away from the steering wheel and sat back in her seat, taking deep breaths. She took a minute to compose herself before finally exiting the car and walking into the school building. She was halfway across the parking lot before someone grabbed her arm and pulled her behind the nearest tree.

Spencer tried to scream, but the person placed a hand over her mouth. She realized that her attacker's touch was gentler than it should have been, and she spun around to see a familiar pair of baby blue eyes, under a jet-black hood, staring back at her.

Toby.

"Don't scream, please," he whispered desperately. "If she knows you're here-"

"What are you doing here?!" Spencer said through his hands. The sound was muffled, so he let go.

"I found out more about her plan," he explained, "and I wanted to come back to figure something out. I want to be able to help you guys as much as I can. But you shouldn't be here! How'd you even find out this is where she's stationed?"

"Toby, we've already got it figured out," Spencer said. "Mona told us everything. We're about to ambush her right now!"

"Wait..." Toby's face went even paler than usual. "Ambush her?"

"Yeah..." Spencer clarified, eying him suspiciously. "She's planning on killing all of us to cause Aria to feel so horrible that she'll kill herself. So Aria is going to ambush her to try to reason with her and stop all of this from happening."

"No!" Toby took his palm and slapped it to his face. "That's exactly what she wants!"

"What... What are you talking about?" Spencer whispered, but Toby had his head in his hands and was whispering to himself how he didn't understand how this could be happening. Spencer pulled his hands away. "Toby. Answer me. What is going on?"

Toby looked up at her with tears in his eyes. "She wanted to get Aria alone so that she could kill her. Whatever she told Mona must've been a setup!"

Spencer felt like she was going to throw up. "No... no I have to go stop her."

"Spencer it might be too late-"

"I don't care!" Spencer shouted, but then lowered her voice once she realized where they were. "Aria came after me when she thought it was too late. She saved my life in that fire. And she saved my life when A tried to kill me in that sauna. I wouldn't _be_ here if it weren't for her, and I need to do the same for her now. She never gave up on me, and I will _never_ give up on her. I have to go!"

"Spencer wait!"

Spencer spun around and was met immediately by Toby's lips on hers. She was stunned, but after a second she kissed back. She was still incredibly angry with him for betraying her, but she missed kissing him, and she hoped this wouldn't be the last time that they were in this position.

Eventually he pulled away and looked her in her eyes. "Be careful."

"I will," she whispered, and after one more quick peck on the lips she dashed off into the school.

* * *

While Spencer was still outside with Toby, Aria tiptoed down the hallway while running her fingers along the metal locks on the lockers for support. It was dark, and she could barely see where she was going. She needed to find her way over to the entrance to the basement as quickly as possible, no matter how impossible the task.

Suddenly, she walked into something hard, and she was so shocked that she stumbled backward and fell on her butt on the floor. She put her hand to her head and moaned in pain, but when she looked up she had even greater of a headache.

Sitting across from her was Ezra.

"Aria? What-"

He was interrupted by her smacking her hand onto his mouth in panic and looking at him with absolute terror in her eyes.

"Ezra! What the _fuck_ are you doing here?!" she whispered.

He widened his soft blue eyes in surprise, and then slowly unraveled her fingers from around his lips. "I came to see Alison," he whispered back.

"Alison?! Have you _lost_ your mind?!"

"Have _you_?!" he argued. "I know that's why you're here. Don't try to deny it."

Aria sat back in defeat. She knew he was right. But then something occurred to her.

"How did you find out where Alison was?" she asked. "How did you even find out she was alive?"

"Spencer told me everything, and rightly so!" he added upon seeing her angered expression. "I should've known the real reason behind why you broke up with me."

"Ezra, I told you," she said exasperatedly, "it's not right. You're teaching in the district, and you have Malcolm and Maggie and-"

"You can make up excuses all you want, but I know you were just trying to protect me!"

Aria froze, and looked at the man that she still cared so deeply about. He looked so scared, so hurt. She knew he wanted nothing more than to keep her safe, and she was making it incredibly hard for him.

"Ezra," she said softly, "I don't want to see you get hurt. I can handle this myself."

"You think I want to see _you_ get hurt?" he asked compassionately, and then, after looking around him with alertness, he turned back and leaned in closer. "Spencer told me about what Alison is capable of. And she told me about why she's this way..."

Aria lowered her head. "I'd rather not talk about that."

Ezra lifted her head back up so that she was facing him, and placed her face gently in his hands. "I could've helped you through all of this. You know that's what I'm here for."

"I didn't find out about all of the gory details until after we were broken up," she explained. "And besides, you have other responsibilities now. You can't be thinking about me when you should be thinking about your son."

"I can do both," Ezra said earnestly. "Aria, I'll always be here for you. I want nothing more than to be with you. And it'd be a different story if you didn't want the same, but I can see that you do!"

Aria hung her head. "You're right, I do. I never stopped loving you. That was never the issue. But it's too hard. I can't risk you or Malcolm getting hurt because of me."

"It's not going to be easy," Ezra admitted. "It's going to be really hard. But I wanna do it because I wanna be with you. I want to protect you, and if you'll let me, I'll help you stop Alison. I don't know how, but I'll help you. Because I... I love you, Aria. So much."

Aria just stared at him, and then immediately forgot everything else as they both leaned in and kissed as passionately as they could. She forgot that Alison was after her and her friends. She forgot that she was on her way to ambush Alison and put an end to the torture they had received these past two years. She forgot about all of it as she and Ezra sat there in each other's arms, lips touching and sparks flying. He was here, and she loved him with everything she had and everything she was. Once Aria pulled away, she looked up at Ezra and smiled for the first time in days as he pulled her into a hug.

"I've missed you," she whispered as he rubbed circles along her back, and she felt the tears threaten to spill from her eyes.

He pulled back and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. "Not nearly as much as I've missed you."

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard. Aria and Ezra jumped, but after examining themselves, they realized that none of them were hurt.

Aria scrambled to her feet. "Ezra, you need to get out of here!"

"Aria I'm not leaving you."

"_Yes you are_!" she said forcefully. "You don't understand. Alison is planning on killing everyone I care about. You need to get _out_ of here!"

Before he could protest, Aria dashed down the hall. He was about to go after her when he heard Spencer calling his name.

He turned around to see her running down the hall toward him. "Spencer?"

"Where's Aria?" she asked urgently. "Where did she go?"

"She just ran off," he said with fright evident in his voice. "I tried to stop her, but-"

"Ezra, it's a trap! Alison just wanted to get Aria by herself. She's going to hurt her!"

"No," he whispered, his blood chilling, and just as he whispered it, both he and Spencer heard a blood-curdling scream at the other end of the hall.

* * *

**Also, little game for you guys: somewhere in this chapter, I've hidden a quote from ****_The Notebook_****. See if you can find it! Hint: it's a quote from Noah, so chances are it's gonna be from one of the male characters in this story ;) thanks for reading, and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	26. Chapter 26

**So you guys were on ****_fire_**** last chapter review-wise! Thank you! Including this chapter, we now only have 3 left :( I'm gonna miss this story so much, it's been such a pleasure to write! I still can't believe that this story was supposed to be around a one-shot at first, and look at how far it has come! It's all thanks to you guys, your positive responses have kept me going! I won't really have time to write anything else until the summer, but it sure was fun while it lasted! Joining fan-fiction as an author and not just a reader is definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made.**

**Here's the next chapter, so read, enjoy, and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

* * *

"Spencer!"

Hanna and Emily ran down the hall, and Spencer immediately marched right past Ezra toward the two of them.

"Where have you two been?!" she demanded. "Where's Aria?! Why didn't you _stop_ her? Or do _something_?!"

"_Calm down_, Spencer!" Hanna yelled. "We heard a gunshot, and we got worried, so we ran after wherever we heard voices to make sure everyone was okay."

Before Spencer could respond, Toby and Mona came running down the hall.

"What happened? I heard a gunshot!" Toby said breathlessly.

"She's got Aria," Spencer whispered, suddenly very afraid, as she put her head in her hands. "No, this isn't happening."

"It's my fault," Mona said. "I should've never listened to her, I'm so sorry!"

"Wait, what's your fault? What's going on?" Emily asked apprehensively.

Mona looked up at her, trembling. "According to Toby, it was a set up to get Aria alone. Alison wants her _dead_. For real."

Hanna and Emily gawked. "How… how could you know that?" Hanna whispered.

"She left me alone in her lair," Toby explained. "I hacked onto the computer. She had it all laid out in one file."

"She _would_ do something like that," Hanna spat bitterly.

"Can we discuss this later?" Ezra croaked. "What are we going to do?"

"Did anyone see where they went?" Spencer asked nervously, and Hanna and Emily both shook their heads.

"Alison must've just taken her down into the basement," Mona said.

"Alright, that's it," Ezra said finally. "Let's go." He and the girls started to walk down the hall, but Mona grabbed Ezra's arm before he could go any further.

"You can't just _barge_ in on her like that," Mona said, as though it was obvious. "You'll be dead in seconds!"

"Well what else am I gonna do?" Ezra said desperately, his blue eyes begging for a way for Mona to understand. "I can't just leave Aria down there to die! I have to stop Ali before she _does_ something to her!"

Before anything else could be said, the sound of scrambling footsteps was heard down the hall. Everyone looked up to see Jason DiLaurentis run up and stop before them.

"I have an idea," he said determinedly.

* * *

"LET GO OF ME! HELP! SOMEONE HEL-"

Alison covered Aria's mouth to muffle her screams as she dragged her into the basement with a surprising amount of strength. With one hand, she locked the door, and then tried to throw Aria down the flight of stairs, but Aria was putting up quite a fight. She tried her hardest to fight off Alison, kicking her and hitting her, but Alison was able to fend off Aria's assaults well enough. She grabbed Aria's arm and twisted it at a painful angle, and Aria had to bite her tongue to keep herself from screaming. Alison used Aria's hesitation to drag her down the rest of the stairs into the basement and throw her onto the ground.

Alison had underestimated Aria, however, for the minute Aria's body met the ground, she immediately picked herself back up and threw herself at Alison until she was against the wall, with Aria on top of her.

"Not so fun when it's the other way around, huh?" Aria growled. Alison squirmed for a minute, but then pulled herself together and smacked Aria away with her arm. Now Alison was on top of Aria.

"You're right, it's not," she said slimily. "I like it a hell of a lot better when I'm in control."

"Alison, listen to me," Aria pleaded. "Do not hurt my friends. Or my family. Or anyone. Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it."

Alison smiled with satisfaction. "I'm so glad you said that." She then slowly pulled a gun out of her pocket and held it up into the light. "See, I don't know if you ever figured this out, but I was never planning on killing those people. My main priority right now is ending it for you."

Aria stared at her, confused and afraid. "But Mona-"

"Is a traitor, and I suspected it all along," Alison said through gritted teeth. "I knew she would come tell you, and she's going to get it later. But right now..."

Alison held the gun up higher, and Aria gasped. Where were her friends? She had screamed like they told her to! When were they going to come down?

Without thinking twice about it, she smacked the gun out of Alison's hand. Both of them stood staring at it as it skidded across the floor, and once it stopped, they simultaneously lunged at it. Aria was a millisecond ahead, but before she could get to it, Alison pulled on Aria's foot and dragged her backward as she crawled ahead. Aria did the same thing to Alison before she could grasp the gun. They continued this pattern for a while until Alison finally got a good hold of the gun. She jumped on top of Aria and held the gun at her head. Aria stared up at her in fear. She wanted to close her eyes and block it all out, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop staring at Alison, at her killer. She knew that from here, she was done.

"Say goodbye, sweetie," Alison whispered as she reached for the trigger.

"Wait!"

Both Aria and Alison looked up from their position to see Ezra running down the stairs to where they both were. He stopped at the bottom stair, holding his hand up.

In his hand was a gun.

"I'll shoot, Alison," Ezra threatened, his voice cracking, "I'll do it! If you shoot Aria, I shoot you!"

Alison hesitated, but then got to her feet immediately, pulling Aria up with her. She wrapped her arm around Aria's neck and held the gun to her head. "I'll take that bet, Fitz."

"Alison, if you want to blame anyone for this, blame me," Ezra begged. "Blame me for not taking action for you."

"Ezra, what are you talking about?" Aria cried, using her peripheral vision to keep an wary eye on the fatal weapon held at her temple.

Ezra kept the gun held up shakily, but he looked at Aria as he spoke. "I saw Alison the day that... the day that it happened. And I was a coward. I wanted to report what I saw, but I was too afraid. Byron threatened me and I was too afraid to do anything. Blame me, Alison, it's my fault!"

"It is no one's fault except for this bitch's right here," Alison growled as she tightened her hold on Aria's neck, making it even harder for her to breathe. "She's the coward. If she had just said something about his affair with Meredith the minute she saw it this whole thing could have been avoided! I wouldn't have a child to watch over, to remind me every day of what happened!"

Alison's voice cracked at the last sentence, and Aria and Ezra could see that she was crying. Aria looked up at her and whispered shakily, "But don't you love her, Alison? You still love your little girl, don't you?"

Alison swallowed loudly. "I do," she whispered through her tears. "But that doesn't change things. It doesn't change what he did to me."

"Why are you going after me, then?" Aria exclaimed desperately. "Why can't you just go after my father!?"

"Personally, I see no difference," Alison shrugged. "Same blood. Same DNA. And now, he gets to suffer just as much, knowing his little girl had to die because of his actions."

"Alison, don't!" Ezra screamed while holding the gun up threateningly.

Suddenly, the sound of scrambling footsteps was heard, and Emily, Hanna, and Spencer came into view.

"I told you guys to stay upstairs!" Ezra exclaimed, but Spencer wasn't having it. She pushed past Ezra and met eyes with Alison.

"Let her go, Alison," Spencer growled. "Let her go or I swear to God-"

"_What_, Spencer?" Alison said condescendingly. "You swear to God _what_?! You were never good at threatening people. Especially those smarter than you."

"Seriously, Alison," Hanna seethed, "this is twisted. I can't believe I used to look up to you."

"Me, too," Emily said, although not with as much venom as Hanna. There was still hurt in her eyes at the realization that this was real. Alison was here, and Alison was evil.

"Ladies please, you should just be happy that I'm sparing _your_ lives," Alison said cooly as she tightened her grip even further on Aria's neck with the gun still pointed firmly at her head. Aria's eyes were now practically bulging out of her head and she was struggling to take in as much air as she could through the small gap left in her throat. But just as Aria thought she was going to pass out, Alison's grip relaxed, and she let go of Aria completely. Aria fell to her knees, gasping for air, and Alison went pale at the sight before her.

Byron Montgomery had entered through a back entrance into the basement, and he was now walking forward; forward toward the girl he had victimized all those years ago.


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm gonna be honest, this chapter is intense. Even while writing it, I was like "Woah... this might be a little much." But hey, you guys can handle it, right? Also, you guys got me over 100 reviews! That's CRAZY! Thank you so much :)**

**There's one more chapter left... tears are being shed. But enjoy this one, and, as always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! And no one entered in their guesses for which quote from ****_The Notebook_**** was mentioned in chapter 25! Go back and figure it out ;)**

* * *

"Alison," Byron whispered. "You're alive."

Alison couldn't respond. She simply started shaking like a leaf, and her shivers became more and more vigorous with each step forward that he took.

"Stay away from me," Alison whispered, still gripping the gun firmly with her one hand. "You ruined my life."

"I'm sorry," he said earnestly.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," she snapped. "You don't get it! _You ruined my life_! You're the reason I had to run off and have a _child_! _You're_ the reason that I could never live my life like a normal teenager!"

"So you _do_ have a child," Byron whispered.

Alison straightened her posture. "Yes. I do. Her... her name is Clara."

"Well, that's a beautiful name," he croaked. This was killing him, and it was evident. Everyone in the room was frozen in place, staring at the two of them tensely interacting with each other.

Tears welled up in Alison's eyes, but she immediately wiped them away. "Yeah, well," she began, and then yanked Aria up off the ground by her hair, causing a yelp to escape from her mouth. "You have another beautiful daughter to watch over, and look how that turned out! Look what's about to happen to her because of what you did! Are you _satisfied_ yet? _Are you happy with your actions_?!"

"Alison, I was never _satisfied_ or _happy_ with my actions in the first place," Byron explained. "I was just desperate, and I panicked. I needed to protect my family."

"Oh yeah? What about the first time you assaulted me?"

"That was protective measures too!" Byron squeaked. "I never wanted it to turn out like this, and I have regretted everything that happened that day for the rest of my life."

"Yeah, you seemed to feel real bad when you refused to pay the rest of my blackmail!" she shrieked, tears now pouring down her cheeks. Byron hung his head in shame.

"I don't know what else there is for me to do to prove how sorry I am," he said simply. "I wish there were some way we could all move on from this."

"Well, there isn't," Alison shrugged as one of her tears rolled off of her cheek and hit the concrete basement floor. She started to raise her gun up to Aria's head again, but was met with immediate protests from Ezra, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily, respectively.

"NO!"

"Don't!"

"If you pull that trigger..."

"Alison, STOP!"

Aria squeezed her eyes shut. She knew that no matter how hard either of them tried, they couldn't save her. Alison had made up her mind.

Byron just stood there, staring at his daughter, so afraid and so corrupted, all because of something he had done out of spite years ago. "Alison, I'm begging you. Let Aria go. She shouldn't have to suffer because of something I did. Please, let her go."

He said it in such an authoritative voice that Alison's grip slipped slightly, but not entirely. She gripped onto Aria's neck tightly again before she could fall to the floor again, pressing her arm to her neck with so much force that Aria felt like she was going to throw up.

Alison stared down Byron. "I'll never be able to forget how you took advantage of me," she said so quietly that everyone needed to lean in to hear her.

"I'll never be able to forget it either," Byron whispered back. "But I want you to stop this. I want you to stop torturing my daughter and these girls, and to stop hurting everyone as a result of something that I did... Hurt me instead if that's what you want!"

Alison froze. "Wha... what?"

Aria took this hesitation as a quick getaway. She bit down on Alison's arm as hard as she could, and Alison pulled away and screamed. Aria ducked under her arm and ran over to her friends and her boyfriend, panting heavily as they examined the bruises on her neck.

But Alison was oblivious to all of it as she stood in front of Byron. "You would _allow_ me to hurt you?"

Byron hung his head. "If you... if you wanted to kill me, I would let you. If that's the only way to end all of this, then fine. Go ahead."

Spencer froze, her fingers stalled on Aria's bruised neck, and Aria visibly went pale. "Dad..."

"What do I have to live for, Aria?" Byron shrieked, his eyes maniacally widened to their extent. "You and your brother hate me, your mother hates me, and you and so many others have gotten hurt because of something that I did. I can't live knowing that I'm the cause of that. I need to end this for you."

He then turned to Alison. "I don't know what else I can do to let you know how sorry I am for what I did. I want to be able to compensate for this. If you'd be happier without me on the planet, I'll allow that to happen."

Alison, for the first time ever, looked lost. She clearly was not expecting this, and she didn't know what to do. "Well... alright. I'll... I'll do it. I'll kill you."

Aria looked up to Spencer in worry, and Spencer put one comforting hand on Aria's shoulder as she looked on at the action happening in front of them. The other hand was reaching into her pocket for her cell phone.

"Promise me that once I'm gone, you'll stop this," Byron said firmly, yet with fear dripping from his voice. Alison weakly nodded her head.

"Stand over there," she shakily ordered to Byron as she pointed to the wall on the far right. It was a rare sight already to see Alison look scared, but neither of the girls had ever seen her like this. She seemed... borderline terrified.

But Byron took her order. He walked over to where she was pointing, and stood facing her, still as a rail. Her lip trembled as she held up the gun and directed it at Byron's head. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst.

But just as she was about to pull the trigger...

"STOP!"

Alison turned around to the source of the scream with murder in her eyes. Aria was standing there in Spencer's arms with tears streaming down her face. The scream had come from her. "Don't kill him," she pleaded. "Please don't kill him."

"Aria..." her dad warned.

"I don't hate you," she whispered to him through her tears. "I could never hate you. I wish you hadn't done what you did, but... I don't hate you for it. You're my dad and… and I l-l-love you."

Ezra, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer all stared at Aria in amazement. After all that he had done, Aria still cared about her father. She still loved him. It was something none of them would understand, but Aria didn't care. She didn't see a bad man before her. She didn't see the man who had raped her best friend or threatened her boyfriend all those years ago. Instead, she saw the man who raised her. The man who would take her to the park on Sunday afternoons when she was younger. The man who used to roll her up in blankets to keep her from getting cold in the winter. The man who first taught her how to read, and would engage her in conversations about the books that she was currently reading. The man who used to hold her when she was scared or upset, and tell her that he would do anything to keep her safe. The man that she grew up with.

The man who was now sacrificing his life to protect her.

"Don't kill him," she whispered again. "Please, there has to be something else."

"Sorry, Aria, but that's it!" Alison yelled, the murder and fury still crystal clear in her blue eyes. "It's either you, or him! Take your pick! I'm done with compromises!"

Aria bit her lip to stop it from trembling. Would she be able to sacrifice herself like her father was about to do? She had no idea.

Before she was burdened with the decision, a door slam was heard, and everyone looked over as a stream of armed police officers entered the basement.

"Alison Dilaurentis?" the officer said, almost as though it was a question. As if to say, "Damn, all this time she was alive?"

Alison stared at the officer in fear. "Y-y-yes?"

"You're under arrest," he said as he pulled a set of handcuffs from behind his back, "for attempted murder and persistent stalking of a group of female minors. And for living under a fake identity for three years."

Her eyes widened as she handcuffed her arms behind her back. "How did you-"

"You're right, Ali," Spencer spat. "I'm not good at threatening people. But that doesn't mean I'm not good at outsmarting them." She smirked as she held up her cellphone, of which 911 was clearly dialed.

Alison's mouth hung open, and Spencer just stood there with her arms crossed, while Emily, Hanna, and Aria looked up at her, clearly impressed. Spencer Hastings was _back_.

Alison glared at Spencer, and then averted her eyes back up to the police officer. "You can't arrest me! I... I have a daughter to take care of. She needs me!"

"Don't worry about that,_ sis_. I've got it taken care of it."

Everyone turned to the staircase. There stood Jason Dilaurentis, and in his arms was a small girl with long blonde locks and the biggest blue eyes either person had ever seen.

Clara.

"Oh my god," Hanna whispered. "Is that..."

"I think so," Emily whispered tearfully.

Alison glared at Jason. "You're seriously allowing this to happen?"

"Sorry, Ali," he said passively, yet at the same time aggressively. "Enough is enough." He looked at Aria as he said it, and she offered him a weak, yet grateful, smile, as she mouthed, "Thank you."

Clara's eyes widened at the sight before her, and Alison averted her eyes away from Jason and looked up at the police officer. "Please. Just let me say goodbye to her."

The police officer looked up at the small girl in Jason's arms, and then reluctantly complied. "Bring the girl forward."

Jason walked down the stairs, and Clara stared at her mother in fear. She didn't say anything, but her face said enough. Alison leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'll miss you, baby girl."

And with that, the officer pulled her out of the basement. Alison dragged her feet along without looking back, her red coat flowing in the wind behind her.

Clara's eyes welled up with tears, and she immediately buried her face in Jason's shirt. Byron's eyes welled up with tears at the sight of his daughter that he never knew existed before a few days ago, and all four of the girls were now in hysterics at the sight of their best friend, the girl who had been behind their suffering for two years, the girl who was never who they thought she was, being dragged out of the school building, gone forever.

It was finally over, but they knew deep down that they would never be able to get over what they had endured. Maybe physically, but definitely not emotionally.

Aria and Spencer held onto each other as they cried, and Ezra leaned over and kissed Aria's forehead. Aria looked over to find her dad standing perfectly still across from them, still in awe of what had just happened. He eventually leaned back against the wall and slid down it, completely overwhelmed.

Then Aria did something that, earlier in the month, she never thought she'd do.

She ran out of Spencer and Ezra's arms and straight into her father's. She held onto him tight and let out all of the tears that she had been trying so hard to hold for the past hour, and continued to sob into his shirt. He held her closely and tightly, rubbing her back and trying his hardest to quiet her cries, even though he himself had tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm so, so sorry, sweetheart," he choked out. "I've never been more sorry for anything before. If I could go back and change anything in my life, it would be that day. I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through. I made a promise the minute you were born to protect you, and I haven't kept that promise in the least. I'm so incredibly sorry, Aria."

Aria unraveled her arms from around her father's shoulders and looked him in his watery eyes. Then, she said the three words that he'd longed to hear ever since she had first confronted him after discovering his affair with Meredith. The three words that warmed both of their hearts to a great extent. The three words that didn't completely restore their relationship, but did enough for the moment.

"I forgive you."


	28. Chapter 28

**Last chapter! *uncontrollable sob* Sorry it's so late! Thank you guys so much for reading my story, and CONGRATS to the Guest reviewer Mickey who got ****_The Notebook_**** quote correct!**

**Noah: So it's not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard, but I wanna do that because I wanna be with you!**

**And Ezra said the same thing! 10 brownie points to Mickey, great work.**

**Once again, I can't even begin to describe how wonderful you all are. I've gotten nothing but good reviews for this story, and it's honestly been the biggest kick start to my self esteem that I could ever ask for, and we all need that occasionally, right?**

**So enjoy this final chapter, REVIEW, and be sure to check out the one shot I just uploaded! It's another Sparia fic called Broken Promises. Right now I'm in the process of writing another story, but I'm not sure when I'll be uploading it. But for now, enjoy these goodies :D Adieu! And again, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

* * *

Police officers surrounded the area. The girls tried their hardest to answer their questions, but neither girl was emotionally stable enough to give a solid answer. One of the officers let Spencer go, and she walked away as she continued to shake with the sobs she was trying so hard to hold back. As she walked away from the scene, she saw a figure in all black walking toward her; only this time, the hood was down, and she could see their face from afar.

"Toby," she whispered, and then immediately ran into his arms, tackling him into a hug. He held her as she cried and stroked her hair soothingly.

"I've got you," he said softly. "I'm here. It's ok."

Spencer pulled herself out of his embrace and looked up at him. "After a while, maybe I'll actually start to believe that," she sniffled.

Toby smiled down at her. "You did it. You stopped Alison, and you saved Aria."

Spencer weakly smiled up at him. "I couldn't have done it without you. You're the one who told me what I needed to know to be able to end everything. You're the reason that she's alive! That we're _all_ alive!"

Toby smiled again, and then leaned in to hug her again. "I hope you know how happy I am to have you here."

"Not as happy as I am to have you here," she said into his hoodie, "because… I love you, Toby."

He pulled back in surprise, and took a good look at her. He tenderly brushed a hair away from her face. Her soft brown eyes reflected the moonlight perfectly, and they sparkled with hope for the future; a future where everything would be okay; a future where they had each other, and that mattered more than what happened in the past. He caressed her face in his hands, which were placed delicately below her subtle cheekbones.

"I love you, too," he whispered, and he planted a kiss on her lips. She kissed back, feeling the most at ease that she had felt in a long time.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emily and Hanna had both managed to escape the police's questions, and were both with their respective families now. Emily, who was with her mother and Paige, explained to the best of her ability everything that had happened, and Caleb was holding Hanna while _her_ mother was trying her best to understand the recent events.

"I can't believe all of this had to happen to you," Pam said sympathetically.

Emily shook her head in disbelief. "I just… I can't believe that, after all this time, Alison was here, and… and she was behind all of this. I prayed for an entire year that she would come back, but… never like this."

Paige wrapped an arm comfortingly around Emily as she wiped the stray tear that managed to escape her girlfriend's eye. "I'm so sorry, Em. Is there any way I can make you feel better about all of this?"

Emily blinked back the rest of her tears as she looked up at Paige; sweet, protective, loving Paige. She cracked a small smile. "Yeah, there is: being here."

Paige smiled back as she kissed Emily chastely on the lips before pulling her into a hug, while Pam rubbed her daughter's back. Emily was happy to have them here, and while a lot had happened that was going to be hard to get over, she had confidence that it would turn out all right.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Hanna had just finished telling her mother and boyfriend about everything that happened in the school. But while Caleb was rubbing calming circles along Hanna's back, something caught her eye.

"Mona?"

Mona was walking toward Hanna, wearing normal clothes. Hanna looked between her mother and her boyfriend. "Umm… can you excuse us, please?"

Ashley reluctantly complied, while Caleb kissed Hanna on the side of her head lovingly before he walked away. Hanna then turned to Mona. "So…"

"Again, I'm so sorry that I gave you guys the wrong information," Mona said sincerely. "If I had known-"

"Mona, it's okay," Hanna interrupted. "Alison admitted to Aria that she knew you weren't on her side. You don't need to try to prove it to me."

"Really?" Mona said excitedly.

"Yeah! Everything is going to be okay. It's over now!" And after that last sentence, Hanna flashed a bright, genuine smile at Mona, which contrasted greatly with her face that was cracking slightly from her tears from crying so hard earlier.

"Does that mean _we're_ okay?" Mona asked warily. She was looking up at Hanna hopefully with her big brown eyes, and Hanna giggled lightly as she opened her arms wide and hugged Mona for the first time in a _long_ time.

"We're okay, Mona," she said. And she meant it.

* * *

Aria, in the meantime, finally managed to escape the police questioning, and as soon as she started to walk away from the scene, a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her before she could register whom the arms belonged to.

"My poor baby!" Ella cried, squeezing Aria as tightly as she could. "I can't believe I almost lost you again!"

"Mom…" Aria wheezed, "Can't… breathe…"

Ella immediately pulled away. "Sorry," she said sheepishly as she caressed Aria's face and hair. While doing so, she came across the bruises on Aria's neck. "Aria… what are these?"

"Oh, um…" Aria hastily placed her hands to her neck. "Alison sorta… tried to choke me at several points."

Tears welled up in Ella's eyes. "Oh, sweetie," she whispered as she held onto Aria once more, nearly suffocating her again. Aria closed her eyes and rubbed her mother's back soothingly. She wanted to cry with her, but she was fresh out of tears from crying so hard tonight, as well as every other night this past month, so she just did her best to comfort her distraught mother.

"It's ok, Mom, really!" Aria reassured. "Dad saved me!"

"_What_?"

As soon as she said this, Byron came into view. He began to walk toward the two most important women in his life. Ella pulled away from Aria and looked up at him, amazed. "Is this true?"

Byron hesitated, but then subtly nodded his head. "I guess it is."

Ella briefly surveyed the man she once loved, and then walked over and gave him a hug. It was the closest that the pair had been in nearly a year. Ella pulled out of the embrace and just stood there with Byron's arms still wrapped around her, looking up at him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," he said earnestly. "I would do anything to keep her safe." He then pulled Aria, who was watching all of this take place, into a side hug and planted a kiss on the crown of her head. Aria smiled slightly and snuggled into the embrace of both of her parents.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Ezra looked over at his girlfriend and her parents. He knew that she was traumatized, but he was incredibly proud of her for doing her best to move on from the past events. While Ezra stood there, Jason walked up and watched over the scene with him.

Ezra turned to him. "Where's Clara?"

"Asleep in the car," Jason explained, and then he looked at Ezra with a serious expression on his face. "I'm taking her to an orphanage in New York tomorrow."

Ezra's eyes widened. "WHAT? Why?"

"Because she doesn't deserve this," Jason deadpanned. "Alison loves Clara, but she's a _teenager_. She was never able to properly take care of her."

"But Alison's in jail!" Ezra exclaimed. "_You_ can take care of her!"

"No I can't," Jason said softly. "I can't take care of a child, and Clara deserves better than my care. If I put her in there, she'll find a nice family who will be willing to love and cherish her, and she won't be stuck in the middle of all this mess."

"What if she doesn't get a good family? What if no one chooses her at all and she's stuck there?" Ezra asked, only to earn a knowing look from Jason.

"Have you _seen_ her?" he asked bluntly. "Who _wouldn't_ want her as their daughter? She's _gorgeous_!" They both laughed, and then remained silent. Ezra took this time to reach into his pocket. He pulled out the gun that he threatened Alison with, and gave it to Jason.

"Thank you for lending me the gun," he said genuinely. "I don't know what would've happened to Aria if I didn't have it with me."

"Anytime," Jason replied. "And… can we just keep it between us that I gave it to you?"

Ezra stared at him, confused. But then he understood. If Jason had been the one to threaten Alison in order to save Aria, Aria would have been even more conflicted about her feelings for each of them. But since it was Ezra, Aria could now be certain in her feelings for him and only him. Jason was basically handing Aria off to Ezra on a silver platter.

Ezra reached out and shook Jason's hand. "Of course. Thank you. You're a terrific guy, Jason. I hope you know that."

"Yeah, well," Jason began as he looked out at the scene where Aria was talking with her parents, "she's a terrific girl. I want nothing more than to see her happy."

"Well I can see why she sees such a great friend in you," Ezra said with a smile. Jason smiled back, and then the two boys parted their separate ways. Jason went to his car to be with Clara, and Ezra caught up with the Montgomerys to try and talk to them.

* * *

While Ezra talked to her parents, Aria slipped away and started walking toward Spencer, who was sitting on the brick wall at the entrance of the school, overlooking the parking lot. Aria stood at the bottom of the steps and stared up at Spencer. "You okay?"

"I don't know," Spencer said cautiously. "But… I know that I will be."

"Yeah," Aria said, "me too."

Spencer looked down to the ground where Aria was staring up at her with her round hazel eyes, and patted the brick area next to her for Aria to join her. Aria climbed the steps and hopped up so that she was sitting right next to Spencer.

"What do you think is going to happen Ali now?" Aria whispered.

Spencer looked at her quizzically. "Aria, she got arrested. She's done. The girl is done."

"Yeah, I know, but… is that really going to stop her? What about when she gets released? Or what if she escapes? Or-"

Spencer clamped her hand playfully over Aria's mouth. "Shush, child," she said with a laugh. "She's not going to escape. They'll have her under _tight_ lock and key after everything that she's done."

Aria frowned down at Spencer's hand on her mouth, and Spencer let go.

"Yeah, but at least she didn't get to go any further with everything she's done," Aria said with a playful punch on Spencer's arm. "That phone call? Impressive. Even for you!"

"Not as impressive as when you bit her," Spencer pointed out. "Never knew you had it in you!"

Aria laughed. "Yeah, well, desperate times call for desperate measures." But then she paused, a sickening thought forming in her head. Her father had said something very similar when giving his reasons for the rape.

Spencer sensed the tension, and placed her hand on Aria's. "I'm really proud of you for forgiving your dad," she said, as though reading Aria's mind. "I know that it took a lot."

"He's my dad, Spence," Aria said softly. "And… I couldn't let him _kill_ himself for me. It wouldn't be right. A part of me is still so angry at him for what he did, but the other part knows that he is paying the price every day, and isn't that enough?"

"Of course it's enough," Spencer agreed as she wrapped a long arm around Aria's narrow shoulders. Aria looked up at Spencer.

"I'm proud of you, too, you know," she said.

"For?"

"Forgiving Toby," Aria said, as though it was obvious. At this, Spencer sighed.

"You know, I really shouldn't," she said thoughtfully. "But… I don't know. I love him too much to have to lose him again, and he _is_ the reason that you're here sitting next to me right now."

"Exactly," Aria said. "And he really loves you, too, Spence. It's obvious."

Spencer blushed. "Surely not as much as Ezra loves you."

"Hey! Leave him out of this!" Aria said in mock dismay, and Spencer merely laughed.

There was silence again, and then Spencer brought up a new question. "What's going to happen to that little girl now?"

Aria hung her head sadly. "Ezra just told me that Jason is taking her to an orphanage. He says she'll find a better family to take care of her there."

"I guess that makes sense," Spencer said. "Now she doesn't have to be caught up in this whole fucked up mess."

"That could not be more true," Aria agreed lightly, but they both knew that there was a more serious subtext behind it. Aria sighed, and then crossed her legs under her as she rotated her body so that she was facing Spencer. "This whole thing was pretty fucked up, but we have to recognize that it's over."

"I know," Spencer said, crossing her legs in an identical fashion as she faced Aria. "I'm just glad that we both made it in the end."

"Me, too," Aria granted as she took Spencer's hands in hers. "And honestly? I couldn't ask for a better friend to be sitting beside me right now. I'm so glad you're here, Spence. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Tears slowly started to trickle down Spencer's cheeks as she held onto Aria's tiny hands. "I don't know what I'd do without you, either."

They both leaned in for a hug, and they didn't let go for a long, long time. Things were still shaky right now, what with the police still surrounding the school and Aria and Spencer still trying to deal with their respective betrayals of their father and boyfriend, but they knew that as long as they had each other, it would turn out all right.

Everything was going to be okay.

**_~Fin~_**


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